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COPYfiiiatit btxmi 



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S-71^S^-A 



BIOCa-H-A-MIIES OF 



Pres. GROVER CLEVELAE 



-A.IsriD 



Hon, ALLEN &. THURMAW, 

WITH FULL PROCEEDINGS OF THE ST. LOUIS CONVENTION 

AND AUTHORIZED TEXT OF THE 

NATIONAL PLATFORM. 



Number 14, July, 1888. 



Copyright, i8S8. 



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8. GROVKR CLEVELAND 




LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 

OF 

PRESIDENT S. GROVER CLEVELAND. 

jARENTAGE. — President Cleveland sprang from an old 
and distinguished New P^ngland ancestry. It is a line 
which is plentifully interspersed with specimens of thor- 
ough culture, high intellectual achievement, and true 
American instinct. His father, Richard F. Cleveland, was 
a Connecticut clergyman of the Presbyterian denomination, and 
different branches of the fomily held prominent pulpit places in 
the Presbyterian, Congregational and Episcopalian Churches. 
They were all alike public-spirited men, intensely loyal to their 
convictions, and firmly attached to our free institutions. 

The President's immediate ancestors formed a Connecticut 
branch of the large family. His great-grandfather was Aaron 
Cleveland, v/ho lived and died in or near the town of Norwich, 
though born in East Haddam. He was a clergyman of consid- 
erable power and reputation, but with a turn for political life. 
A large and admiring constituency gave him opportunity to 
indulge his inclination by sending him to the State Legislature. 
The two sons of Aaron Cleveland who are most conspicuously 
mentioned were Charles and William. Charles Cleveland, great- 
uncle of the President, had a daughter who married Samuel y 
Coxe. Their son, Alfred Cleveland Coxe, is now the Bishop of 
Western New York. The other son, William Cleveland, lived 
in Norwich most of his life, where he carried on the business of 
a silversmith. At a late period he went to Buffalo, N. Y., to live, 
that he might be near other members of his family who resided 
there. He died there in 1837. 

(1) 



2 STEPHEN GROVER CI.EVERAND. 

William's son, Richard F. Cleveland, and father of the Presi- 
dent, was born in Norwich, Jan. 19, 1804. He entered Yale 
College at the early age of sixteen years and graduated in 1824. 
He then went to Baltimore to teach school, in the meantime car- 
rying on a series of studies designed to fit him for the ministry. 
In 1828 he was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church, 
and immediately took charge of the congregation at Haddam, 
Conn. While teaching in Baltimore he made the acquaintance 
of a Miss Neal, whom he married after he had been preaching 
about a year. 

The Rev. Richard F. Cleveland was a man of high intellectual 
attainments, and a most devoted student. Study was a love be- 
yond any thought of worldly advancement. In the course of his 
ministerial work, and soon after his marriage, he accepted a call 
at Caldwell, N. J., where he officiated for some years. Thence 
he removed to Fayetteville, Onondaga co., N. Y. After a time 
he moved to Clinton, Oneida co., and thence to Holland Patent, 
in the same county, where he died, Oct. I, 1853. His wife, the 
President's mother, lived till July 19, 1882, almost long enough 
to see her illustrious son elected to the highest office in the gift 
of the citizens of the Empire State. 

EARLY LIFE. — President Cleveland was born in Caldwell, 
Essex CO., N. J., on March 18, 1837. He was therefore in the 
forty-eighth year of his age when he was elected, and one of the 
youngest of our Presidents. He was named Stephen Grover 
Cleveland, though popularly known as Grover Cleveland, the 
first part of his Christian name having fallen into disuse. 

He was the fifth in a family of nine children, the others being 
Mrs. Hastings, William N. Cleveland, Mrs. Wm. E. Hoyt, Rich- 
ard C. Cleveland, Mrs. N. B. Bacon, Lewis F. Cleveland, Mrs. 
L. Youmans, and Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, the latter unmar- 
ried, a lady of strong intellectual ca^pacity, and a prominent 
woman suffrage advocate. 

The two-story-and-a-half white house in which the President 
■tvas born is still standing. At the age of three years he left the 
scene of his birth to accompany the family to their new home in 
Fayetteville, N. Y. Here he grew to stout and active boyhood, 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 3 

amid the advantages then common to village life, not the least 
of which was good common schooling. 

At the age of fourteen he desired to supplement his common 
school education v/ith an academic one. His father was some- 
what averse to this step, on the score of expense, and because he 
desired his boys to become self-supporting as soon as possible. 
Accepting the parental verdict as final, the youth started out to 
earn his own living, and push his own way in life. 

He entered the village store at a salary of fifty dollars for the 
first year, Avhicli sum .was to be made one hundred for the second 
year, in case he proved efficient. The boy's pluck and energy 
did not fail him. His record in this humble position bespoke 
the coming man. It was one of simple, unswerving integrity 
and untiring loyalty to the interests of his employer. In public 
place, and in mature years, it has ever been one of faithful ad- 
herence to deep-rooted conviction and much-admired devotion 
to the interests of the people who honored him with their confi- 
dence and support. The testimony is unimpeachable that what- 
ever the boy found to do in the capacity in which he was first 
called to serve he did with all his heart, and that in the earlie-t 
chapter of his history of self-helpfulness and business independ- 
ence there is indelibly written down a reputation for bravery of 
spirit, fidelity to trust, and candor of character, which has out- 
lived the intermediate years. 

A STUDENT. — The quality of courage, inherent in his com- 
position, and of ambition to acquire a broader education, were 
seconded by economic habits ; so that after a year or two spent 
in the Fayetteville store, and when his father moved to Clinton, 
the youth rejoiced in a realization of his dreams by being per- 
mitted to attend the academy in the village. Here he made 
rapid progress in learning, for his purse was meagre, and oppor- 
tunity long coveted was to be turned to speedy account. His 
father, with a large family to support, and only a limited income 
to rely upon, could not supplement his efforts to acquire a higher 
education. The path to success must be cut out of the hard rock 
of limited circumstances by the boy's own ingenious and perse- 
vering hand. Right well he held the chisel, and right well di- 



4 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

rected the stroke. Acquisition with him was easy, and his aca- 
demic career profitable, thout^di brief. Education under such 
circumstances may not be so full as when plenty of time and 
money is at command, but it is better appreciated, and often far 
more practical. Moreover, it is an incentive to higher endeavor, 
for both youth and manhood are at their best when it is under- 
stood that the price of victory is hard blows with the weapons 
of one's own earning. 

A TEACHER. — The breaking up of the paternal home in 
Clinton, by the renaoval of his father to Holland Patent, a village 
of some five or six hundred people, fifteen miles north of Utica, 
<nded his academic career. In this new field the father preached 
but three Sundays, when death ended his pastorate. Grover 
first heard of his father's death while walking with his sister in 
the streets of Utica. The sad event was followed by the final 
break-up of a large family, which a loving hand had held to- 
gether and in.spired with a truly Christian spirit The children 
all sought honorable walks in life, and even those who have not 
found renown are in possession of that independence, peace, and 
comfort which Qf*K? count for more than fame. 

As Rev. Richard F. Cleveland died Oct. i, 1853, the son, Gro- 
ver, must have been in his seventeenth year. Though young to 
brave life without a father's counsel, he struck eastward and 
found himself in the city of New York. Here he seems to have 
been fortunate in securing a situation as teacher in the New 
York City Blind Asylum, where he had a record as a devoted 
instructor and a great reader and student. His tastes, or ambi- 
tions, were not, however, satisfied in this confined situation. 
The world of the school-room was not large enough for him. 
There were other things in store, and he would seek them. Two 
years ended his teaching career, and he started for the West. 

A LAW STUDENT. — This journey was without definite 
plan, and even without destination, except in so far as the per- 
suasions of a friend had induced him to inspect the city of 
Cleveland, Oh«io, and try his fortune in what was then regarded 
as one of the most growthy and promising cities of the West. 
The coincidence of the name with his own augured well, if boy- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 5 

ish fancy were to play a part in establishing his fortune. He 
therefore made that city his objective point. Fortunately, he 
stopped for a time in Buffalo, where he found a maternal uncle, 
Lewis F. Allen, a man held in high esteem in Erie county, one 
who had been honored by many public positions, and who in 
turn had honored them. 

Mr. Allen was very favorably impressed with his nephew and 
young adventurer. He persuaded him that Buffalo offered as 
many opportunities for success as any more remote place, and 
kindly proffered him much good counsel and encouragement. 
Young Grover's predilections for the West were overcome. He 
resolved to stay with his uncle. Mr. Allen v/as then a noted 
breeder of blooded stock-cattle. His farms in the neighborhood 
of Buffalo were extensive, and his herds had a reputation for 
purity of quality which was not hmited by State lines. Desiring 
to perfect his operations, he placed young Grover in charge of 
the herd-books, at the modest sum of fifty dollars a year and 
found, but with the understanding that he was to look around 
him for other occupation in case this proved irksome. The old 
uncle evidently knew that a young man ' n aspirations for 
Western life, and with ambitions to succeed, could not be ab- 
ruptly switched off his line of intent, unless he himself largely 
acquiesced in the diversion. 

Besides, the youth had already signified his intention to make 
himself a lawyer. This ambition he soon found means to grat- 
ify. The entry of herd varieties, the noting of pedigrees for 
Alderneys, short horns, Durhams, etc., was not such sleepy work 
as to close his eyes to chances for getting on, even though the 
location was two miles beyond the centre of the city. On the 
contrary, it was a work which gave him the control of much 
leisure. This he resolved to turn to account. 

He made application to the law firm of Messrs. Rogers, Bovven 
& Rogers, in Buffalo, to be entered as a student. Success fol- 
lowed the application. He had now the double care of editing 
an important stock book and drinking in the lore of Blackstone 
and Coke upon Littleton. From farm to office, and back, he 
walked each day, winter and summer, till he passed his final 
examination and was admitted to the bar. 

/ 



Q STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

This period of acquisition, under difficulties which would have 
appalled a youth with less pluck, served as a training time for 
the qualities which were to round out the able practitioner and 
assure his professional success. The privations of the penniless 
novitiate were over. His receptive mind had made the labor of 
learning light, and this w^as the one joy which had pervaded the 
long, difficult and weary pupilage. 

AS A LAWYER. — The date of his admission to the bar was 
1859, he then being in his twenty-third year. Such was the 
confidence of the firm in his ability and integrity that he re- 
mained with it for three or four years after his admission. He 
thus added to previous training a large experience in active prac- 
tice, and came to be noted for his close preparation of cases, his 
clear and forcible method of statement, and his untiring adher- 
ence to the cause he espoused. The elements of growth which 
bore him over the obstacles of previous years were now lifting 
him into honorable competition with the older lights of the bar. 
If these elements, as they now cropped out, were to be reduced 
to speech, they must be enumerated as exhaustive preparation, 
stern adhesion to purpose, avoidance of legal quirk, just and 
faithful representation, sterling honesty in details, loyal adhesion 
to clientage. Back of these were a commanding presence, a gra- 
cious demeanor, a fervid style of eloquence, which bespoke the 
confidence of courts and juries, and stamped him as one calcu- 
lated to win as much through worth as energy. Says one of 
his early associates in Buffalo: " Grover Cleveland won our 
admiration by his three traits of indomitable industry, unpreten- 
tious courage and unswerving honesty. I never saw a more 
thorough man at anything he undertook. Whatever the subject 
was he was reticent until he had mastered all its bearings and 
made up his own mind, and then nothing could swerve him from 
his convictions. It was this quality of intellectual integrity more 
than anything else perhaps, that made him afterwards listened 
to and respected when men with greater dash and brilliancy who 
were opposed to him were applauded and forgotten." 

In i8r)3, the honors which could not long be withheld from a 
man of his solidit}^ of character antl ]:)ronounced professional 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 7 

status, fell upon him in the shape of a call to the position of 
Assistant District Attorney of Erie County. The call came at 
the instance of his associates at the bar, who had united in a 
recommendation which was almost unanimous. This was the 
true heoiiiniiip; of his public career. It is significant that it had 
an origin in a confidence which was widely diffused, and untram- 
meled by creed or politics. It was an unquestioned, unhmited 
confidence, such as goes out only to those whose manhood is 
their guarantee of freedom from belittling influences and false 
actions. lie was a Democrat, and had passed from boyhood to 
manhood as such. But while imbued with lively party convic- 
tions and given to earnest advocacy of vital party tenets, he never 
stooped to the use of questionable methods, and never forgot for 
a moment the proper attitude of parties toward the Stnte, the 
nation, and the institutions which inlay and overshadow all. 
There was no asperity in his politics, and none of that narrow, 
intense part\'ism which estranges friends, sanctions corrupt prac- 
tices, or refuses to see any good in men and things outside of 
clannish limits. In the hour of war he placed country before 
party. In the hour of peace he recognized the uses of party as 
legitimate and purifying, provided partyism did not run away 
with and pervert honorable and acceptable methods. 

For all of the above reasons, his associates at the bar and the 
citizens of his town found it fitting to honor him with his first 
public trust. While serving in the capacity of Assistant District 
Attorney he was draftetl, and promptly furnished a substitute. 
His career in this office extended over a period of three years. 
How acceptably he had served was shown by the fact that he 
received the nomination of his party for the position of District 
Attorney in 1865. His opponent on the Republican ticket, 
Lyman K. Bass, was successful, after a spirited contest, in which 
Mr. Cleveland showed himself much stronger than his party. 

On the first of January, 1866, he formed a law partnership with 
the late J. V. Vanderpool, which continued till January, 1869. 
It then ended by the withdrawal of Mr. Vanderpool to fill the 
position of Police Justiceship to which he had been elected. 
After this dissolution a new kw-firm was formed, known as 



8 STEPHEN" GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Laning, Cleveland and Folsom, the head of it being Hon. A. P. 
Laning, State Senator. While in this firm and in the enjoyment 
of a lucrative practice he was called upon to serve again in a 
public capacity. This time it was as Sheriff of Erie County. 
The office is not usually regarded as one rec]uiring more than 
average ability to fill it, nor does it ordinarily open a field for the 
exercise of very high or commanding qualities. But in this in- 
stance, not only the Democratic, but a conspicuous factor in the 
Republican party, had an object to accomplish which could be 
done in no other way and through no other agency. Gross 
favoritism and glaring corruption had crept into the administra- 
tion of the office. The management had become an offense to 
every element of justice and defiant of every reform remedy. 
The majority of the dominant party in the county was usually 
large, running from three to six thousand. Democracy alone 
had a poor show to correct crying evils. It was only by putting 
up a man for the place whose character was in itself a guarantee 
of the reforms demanded that they could hope to draw the Re- 
publican contingent necessary to secure his election. Their choice 
fell on Grover Cle\'eland as the man for the emergency. He 
would necessarily have to make a great personal and professional 
sacrifice if he succeeded, but he was a man who shrank from no 
consideration of expediency when a great public interest had to 
be subserved. The purification of a pest-house disturbs the 
stereotyped order of things and puts society and individuals to 
much present discomfort. But the general good must be con- 
sulted, and he is not a hero who refuses to second ever}' effort 
to further the sanative and social welfare of his community. 

Full of this laudably sacrificial spirit and with the determina- 
tion to introduce marked and lasting reforms into a position 
whose status had been shamefully lowered, he stood for the 
election, and was flatteringly successfiil. His administration 
was what was expected of a man of his integrity and firmness. 
He broke up corrupt practices, wiped out the shame which 
clouded the oftice and gave to execution of county affairs a new 
direction and more significant meaning. He showed that dig- 
nity could be made to crown the actions of an official, even 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 9 

though the office was that of sheriff. The object of his election 
was fully met by his vigor and straightforwardness. At the end 
of his term he returned the office to the majority party as a model 
piece of county machinery and an evidence of what reforms could 
be achieved if officials would only keep in view the best interests 
of those they are called upon to serve. His administration was 
not forgotten in Buffalo. The man for this emergency would 
prove the man for others, when the need should become equally 
great. 

His election to the Sheriffalty occurred in the fall of 1869. 
His acceptance put an end to his partnership in the law-firm of 
Laning, Cleveland and Folsom. At the expiration of his official 
term he had to look around for other connections. Soon a part- 
nership was formed with Lyman K. Bass, his old opponent in 
the race for District Attorney, and Wilson S. Bissell, the firm 
being known as that of Bass, Cleveland and Bissell. 

He was now back on favorite professional ground, after a 
diversion which had brought into conspicuous view his masterly 
executive qualities and familiarized the Western end of the State 
with an administration whose vigor was only surpassed by its 
purit}'. In a short time Mr. Bass removed from Buffalo and the 
law-firm became Cle\'eland, Bissell and Sicard. It took rank at 
once as among the foremost, if not the foremost, in Western New 
York, a reputation which was secured and maintained b)' the 
large acquaintance, high standing, and recognized Itgal ability 
of the head of the firm. Their office was in spacious and promi- 
nent quarters on Main street, where each member had his own 
library, consulting room and other facilities for carrying on the 
different branches of their rapidly growing business. Cleveland 
and Bissell were both very large men physicall)', and they were 
often jokingly called the heavy weights of the fiim. Both were 
dignified and affable in demeanor, and aside from their reputation 
as sound and successful lawj-ers, were calculated to attract a large 
clientage and inspire it with the utmost confidence. 

In this partnership Mr. Clcx'eland regarded himself as settled 
for life. Success was crowning his efforts and gratif)'ing his am- 
bitions. He has been heard to say that he ^^■as content w ith his 
SI 



10 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

partners and his practice. Had he been left with them, he need 
never have entertained a fear that his merits would have been 
overlooked by the great public, nor that all the rewards of indus- 
try, honesty, and ability would have failed to cluster in his path. 

Says one who was well acquainted with hini at this period: 
" It was while thus associated that Grover Cleveland achieved his 
distinction as a lawyer second to lew in the Western part of the 
State for legal acumen and intellectual honesty. His jury and 
bench trials v/ere distinguished by clear views, direct, simple logic, 
and a thorough mastery of all the intricacies of the cases, and 
his invariable avoidance of extrinsic issues and purely technical 
devices secured for him the respect of his own profession and 
the admiration of the public." 

AS MAYOR. — Destiny forbade a long continuance of this 
smoothly running tide. Municipal politics in Buffalo had as- 
sumed a shape repugnant to the better citizens of both parties. 
Powerful rings existed which partitioned offices and their spoils 
and perpetuated themselves with autocratic certainty and audac- 
ity. Ingenious and corrupting cliques in both parties conspired 
to plunder and divide. Perhaps the city was not unlike others 
in this respect, except as to the enormity of the evil and the dif- 
ficulty of a hopeful attack upon it. He must possess more than 
ordinary bravery and tenacity of purpose who ventured to deal 
the first blov/ at a situation turreted with power and manned by 
skilled political manipulators. Redemptory effort, to be effective, 
must come from a source above all suspicion, must be as persis- 
tent as a forge-hammer, and regardless of consequences so far 
as they affected persons, parties or questions of sheer expediency. 
All during the year i88i the cry for local reform, which it was 
well understood could only come by political revolution, went 
up. Was there a man in the midst popular enough to place 
experiment beyond reach of failure? Was there one indomi- 
teble enough to venture into the dens where the lions of power 
divided and devoured their dark and secret conquests? 

It seemed that there w^as one. His party singled him out, at 
least the true men of his party. The true men of the Republi- 
can party said he was the man of all others best calculated to 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. H 

rr^eet the requirements of the difficult situation. They heartily 
seconded his selection, and joined hands with a will to give him 
a triumph at the polls. In ;i Republican stronghold, and against 
combinations which reached far toward the centre of his own 
party, he was chosen Mayor by 5000 majority; running far in 
advance of the State ticket. If the election were a testimonial to 
his fortitude, integrity and popularity, unexampled in Buffalo his- 
tory, or even in the history of the State, what must the net re- 
sults of his administration stand for? November, 1881, was 
morning in a city whose politics had been a Cimmerian mid- 
night. 

His mayoralty was in the exact line of that pronounced senti- 
ment to which he owed the honors of his election. It fully justi- 
fied the expectations that were created by his well-known char- 
acter and previous public record. The nomination had come to 
him unsought and undesired, the election by that spontaneity 
which ever marks a great popular and tidal resolve, and prints 
its meaning so that even he that runneth cannot mistake it. 

The man and his methods were now to stand the test. He 
was happily untrammeled in his choice of the latter. His own 
good judgment was to be his criterion. This judgment had been 
greatly widened and strengthened by his practice at the bar, and 
his ample opportunities to study men and political ways and 
measures. As to aught else there was no fear, for his turn was 
executive, his nature sterling and invincible, tie was his own 
counsellor. With characteristic industry he passed the first 
weeks after election in studying the details of every department 
of the city administration and mapping a programme from 
which there should be no departure either under vituperation 
or applause. 

His inaugural address sounded the key-note of administration. 
" We hold," said he, " the money of the people in our hands, to 
be used for their purposes and to further their interests as mem- 
bers of the municipality, and it is quite apparent that, when any 
part of the funds with which the taxpayers have thus intrusted us 
are diverted to other purposes, or when, by design or neglect, we 
allow a greater sum to be applied to any municipal purpose than 



12 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

is necessary, we have to that extent violated our duty. There 
surely is no difference in his duties and obligations, whether a 
person is intrusted with the money of one man or many. And 
yet it sometimes appears as though the office-holder assumes 
that a different rule of fidelity prevails between him and the tax- 
payers than that which should regulate his conduct, when, as an 
individual, he holds the money of his neighbor." 

Such was the great need of reform in the city, the desperation 
of the battle to be fought, the explicit character of his pledges, 
the firmness of the man, the curiosity to note the outcome of 
the administrative struggle, that both parties throughout the 
entire State looked on Buffalo and its mayoralty as a prime part 
of a political drama, whose further enactment in municipal high 
places for their purification and enlightenment should depend on 
its success where first introduced. The Buffalo reform move- 
ment was to be not only for Buffalo, but it was to be a criterion 
by which all municipal reforms v/ere to be graduated, after which 
all should pattern, through which all should derive hope and 
encouragement. 

It is not in stations of glittering magnitude that men are put 
to the severest tests. " The qualities," says Socrates, " that fit 
a man to rule a city, fit him to rule an empire." Indeed, it is 
true that public responsibility is deepest, and official worth most 
radically tested, the nearer the office lies to the people. This is 
what makes municipal government such a delicate and difficult 
thing. The fortitude, the knowledge of men and situations, the 
integrit)', the statesmanlike grasp, which are necessar)-, in a 
municipal executive, to assure pure and acceptable administration, 
are no more largely required, and certainl}' never so constantly 
called into active requisition, where the executive is even that 
of a .State or nation. 

Scarcely had he launched his administration when it drew the 
concentrated fire of his political enemies. The City Council 
wa;? against him, with its \{)vc of jobbery and adhesion to prac- 
tices he wcMild uproot and discard. The old rings encircled him, 
cither to gather him into deceptive embrace or crush him in 
their deadening coils. A street-cleaning contract, as immense 



STEPIIKN GROYER CLEVELAND. 13 

lis it wns iniquitous, went throuc;h the Council. It was the 
ijr.-uul ()p[)')rtuiiil}- of tlie pilferiuL;- pi>htici.ui to eniich himself 
and friends. It wa.s a type of the jobs which had impoverished 
the city and brought its administration into discredit. It was, 
morco\-er, the kind of enactment which cemented municipal 
influence am.! made it hazardous to his popularity for an execu- 
tive ofhcer to crush it with his veto. But the veto came, and in 
this instance promptly antl with telling effect. It was as if a 
bomb h.ul suddenly burst in the midst of the plunderers. "This 
is a time," said he, in his veto message, " for plain speech, and 
my objection to }our action shall be plainly stated. I regard it 
as the culmination of a most barefaced, impudent and shameless 
scheme to betray the interests of the people and to worse than 
squander the public money. We are fast gaining positions in 
the grades of public stewardship. There is no middle ground. 
Those who arc not for the people either in or out of your honor- 
able bod)', arc against them, and should be treated accord- 
ingly." 

The people, who knew their man before, now knew him 
better. In fact, his political enemies knew him quite too well. 
His w.is not the stuff that tricksters and cowards are made of, 
but the sterling metal which enters into men coined and stamped 
for great occasions. His action was received with the greatest 
favor by his party friends, ' and by the friends of purity and 
decorum throughout the county and State. It was a harbinger 
of other victories far more significant, and an earnest that muni- 
cipal reform was at last within reach of a long aggrieved people. 
He was heralded far and wide as the strong, incorruptible, in- 
vincible hero of an emergency before which others had quailed 
and fell. The results of this single veto to the city were of 
incalculable benefit. Its moral effect was felt in every depart- 
ment. The political atmosphere was freshened. From an eco- 
nomical standpoint, the saving was immense. Under a subse- 
quent ordinance, and the contracts based on it, the work was 
done for ^100,000 less money than at first proposed. 

It is hardly necessary for the exemplification of Grover 
Cleveland's fortitude, integrity, and w^onderful executive ability, 



14 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND.' 

to go into painstaking and tedious details of his mayoralty. We 
understand \vh}' lie was chosen and what was expected of him. 
A thousand instances of heroic and timely application of the 
power with which he was vested would not magnify the impor- 
tance of the \'erdict of approval which awaited th© closing hours 
of his administration. Nor would such serve to further illumi- 
nate those qualities of manhood he was now seen to possess in 
a degree wliich astounded and overawed his opponents. Yet 
mention must be made of his second struggle with the powerful 
and corrupting influences about him. This was a job to build a 
large connecting sewer. The issue was sharply joined, the con- 
tention bitter. The mayor's pluck and earnestness won, and his 
second victory was far more significant than the first. It saved 
;^8oo,ooo to the city. Altogether the first si.K months of his 
administration saved to the city an amount estimated at Si,000,- 
ooo. This magnificent aggregate might be safely doubled, if the 
entire term of his mayoralty were to be considered. True, the 
rings were daunted and never rallied to other audacious attacks 
on the treasury, yet the mayor found frequent uses for his veto 
power in order to preserve the position he had won and drive 
home on his opponents the wholesome effects of his reformatory 
teaching. Not a single ordinance was ever passed over his 
veto. His veto messages were models of directness and exact- 
ness. 

We search American political annals in vain for an example 
of municipal administration so vigorous, effective and productive 
of permanent good, as that which Grover Cleveland gave to 
Buffalo. His comprehension of a delicate and difficult situation, 
his mastery of details, his development of an executive polic\-, 
his firm yet dignified command of the powers at his disposal, hi's 
persistent following up of every advantage gained, and finally his 
turning of the government back to the people, washed as to its 
shame and purified as to its corruption, constitute a chapter in 
his life whose reading is inspiriting to both old and young, and 
whose contemplation ought to be a source of pride to any man, 
no matter with what high honors his after life was crowned. 
Let it not be forgotten that he had made no quest of the honor^^ 



STKrilKN r.ROVER CLEVELAND. 15 

of office. No election fanfaronade attended his candidacy. No 
single act of self-glorificati* n or self-advancement entered into 
his ministrations. A good and true man found a trust to be 
executed in a plain, honest, faithful, industrious \va}'. The way 
was that of the people, and the}' neither failed to remember nor 
to thank and honor. While a local constituency were ringing 
the plaudit, " Well done, thou p-ood and faithful servant ! " the 
people of an entire State were getting ready to say, " Come up 
unto higher places and honors." 

While yet mayor, and in the spring of 1882, he had occasion 
to testify to the American spirit regnant within him as presiding 
officer of a mass-meeting called to take action on the case of 
Irish-Americans then aggrieved by English tyranny and actually 
suffering from imprisonment in Ireland. As is well known, our 
foreign polic}' was regarded as too feeble to reach these cases 
and to make American citizenship respected abroad. Our min- 
ister to England seemed to be indifferent to the fate of those 
naturalized Irishmen who, on a visit to their native land .?.nd on 
natural expression of sympathy with their long-suffering coun- 
trymen, had fellen into the category of suspects, and had been, 
without hearing, deprived of their liberty by incarceration in 
British bastilcs. Neither did there seem to be a sentiment at 
home sufficiently pronounced to demand the rights indubitably 
attached to the name of American. The Bufflilo meeting was 
one of protest against a policy of weakness and timidity on the 
part of our government. It was directly in the interest of our 
citizens of foreign birth. One who had not their cause at heart, 
a mere politician with selfish aims, or w'ith fears for his popularit}-, 
a trimmer for place and without character or substantial convic- 
tions, might have remanded such a matter to the Secretar)- of 
State at Washington, or complacently declined to interfere with 
a question which concerned only a fraction of our populace. 
But Mayor Cleveland was as ready to stand as the representa- 
tive of American citizenship in its broadest and fullest significance 
as to throttle corruption in his adopted city. As chairman of 
this meeting, he pointed out, from a strictly legal and constitu- 
tional standpoint, and with a clearn'=>ss and precision which always 



16 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 



characterized his presentation of pleas, the common right of 
native-born and adopted citizens of this country to protection 
from the Government at Washington the world over. Then, 
proceeding in a strain of earnest and impassioned eloquence, 
which captured every hearer, he enunciated the following doc- 
trine, which, if incorporated as an American citizen plank into a 
political platform, any candidate for even so high an office as 
President might be proud to stand upon : 

It needed not the statute wliich is now the law of the land, declaring that " all 
naturalized citizens while in foreign lands are entitled to and shall receive from this 
Government the same protection of person and property which is accoriled to 
native-born citizens," to voice the policy of our nation. In all lands where the 
semblance of liberty is preserved, the right of a person arre;,ted to a speedy accu- 
sation and trial is, or ought to be, a fundamental law, as it is a rule of civilization. 
At any rate, we hold it to be so, and this is one of the liglits which we undertake 
to guarantee to any native-born or naturalized citizen of ours, whether he be im- 
prisoned by order of the Czar of Russia or under the pretext of a law administered 
for the benelit of the landed aristocracy of England. We do not claim to make 
laws for other countries, but we do insist that whatsoever those laws may be, they 
shall, in the interests of human freedom and the rights of mankind, so far as they 
involve the liberty of our citizens, be speedily administered. We have a right to 
say, and do say, that mere suspicion without examination on trial is not sufficient to 
justify the long imprisonment of a citizen of America. Other nations may permit 
their citizens to be thus imprisoned — ours will not. And this in effect has been 
solemnly declared by statute. We have met liere to-night to consider this subject 
and to inquire into the cause and the reasons and the ju.^tice of the imprisonment 
of certain of our fellow-citizens now held in British pris>ns without the semblance 
of a trial or legal examination. Our law declares that the Government .shall act 
in such cases. But the people are the creators of the Government. The undaunted 
apostle of the Christian religion, imprisoned and persecuted, appealing centuries 
ago to the Roman law and the rights of Roman citizenship, boldly demanded, " Is 
it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned ?" So, too 
might we ask, appealing to the law of our land and the laws of civilization, " Is it 
lawful that these our fellows be imprisoned who are American citizens and 
uncondemned ? " 

AS GOVERNOR. — In 1882 the political situation in New 
York State was peculiar. The Republican managers had nomi- 
nated a ticket from Governor down, which did not reflect the 
sentiment of their party. It was believed to be directly in the 
interest of President Arthur, and to be his attempt to assume, or 
rather retain, control of the party machinery in the State. Fur- 



■ STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 17 

^lier, the methods resorted to in convention, in order to secure 
the nomination of favorites, were regarded as unfair and dishon- 
orable. They were tricks, whose results were bound to recoil 
on their jierpetrators. There was a revolt all along the line, and 
a determination to rebuke a procedure which savored of corrup- 
tion and punish the principals who expected to find preferment 
in a resort to it. 

Democratic candidates were not wanting who were anx'ions to 
take advantage of the situation. They saw in Republican schism 
an opportunity for triumph which was tempting to every adven- 
turer. But the wiser heads of the party saw further than this. 
And without disparagement to the older, it must be said that 
the younger elements of the party composed to a large extent 
these wiser heads. They saw that the Republican candidates — 
especially Mr. Folger, candidate for Governor — were personally 
unobjectionable, and that the protest was not so much against 
men as against the ring methods which secured their nomination 
and the objects to be gained by such nominations. They also 
saw that a weak and frivolous Democratic nomination, one 
made on the pretext that anybody could be elected, would onh* 
serve to drive back the protesting Republicans into the deserted 
ranks and endanger the entire situation. Again, they saw that 
in order to add emphasis to the protest they must present in 
their candidate an assurance that, if elected, a perfectly pure 
State administration would ensue. The opportunity they saw 
was not one for a mere man ; but for their party, the people, the 
entire State. They knew full well the difficulties attending 
gubernatorial administration in New York, the traps and pitfalls 
laid for honest men, the temptations to go astray, the impossi- 
bilities, one may sa}', of a perfectly straight official career, unless 
the incumbent should come clad in tried armor. 

In looking over the interesting situation, the eyes of the 
party naturally turned to Grover Cleveland. In many respects 
the State outlook was like that which preceded his call to the 
maj'oralty of Buffalo. At any rate, they saw in the man who 
was winning the encomiums of both parties for his straightfor- 
ward impartial, and business-like municipal administration, the 



]8 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

candidate they wanted for the highest office in the State. His 
was a character above suspicion at the start, and one which 
would bear closest scrutiny even under the calcium light of a 
campaign. He had been tried in the severest of crucial fires, 
and no element of a successful executive had been found wanting 
He was known, too, within and without his party. All in all, 
Cleveland presented in himself and in his record the very guar- 
antee the Democracy desired for themselves, and also to offer to 
the Republicans. So he was placed on their ticket as candidate 
for governor against Mr. Folger, one of the best known men in 
the State, and one of the ablest. 

The campaign was an interesting one from the beginning. The 
missiles of the enemy flew thick and fast, but failed to wound or 
even hit the Democratic nominee. He grew stronger and 
stronger from the very day of his nomination. The enthusiasm 
his name kindled in his own party held it to a strict allegiance 
and drew an overflowing support. Study of his character by 
the protesting Republicans, and favorable knowledge of him, 
both as a man and official, attracted thousands directl)' to his 
standard and led other thousands to show their preference for 
him over their own nominee by silent acquiescence. Both par- 
ties, in the State and nation, were astounded at the result. It 
could hardly be called popular election — it was rather popular 
revolution. Never was the wisdom of a nomination so emphati- 
cally vindicated. Never did the American people voluntarily 
tender so lavish an ovation to one whom they honored and 
trusted. His vote was 535,318, as against 342,464 for his oppo- 
nent, leaving him a plurality of 192,854, and a clear majority 
overall opposition of 155.097. The height of the wave which 
bore the new Governor from his home in the extreme western 
part of the State to the capital in the extreme eastern part, and 
which strewed hills and valleys with Republican wreckage, was 
unprecedented in political history. 

The movement which made him governor, like that which 
had made him mayor, was not of his origination. The office 
had in both instances sought the man, as it should do in a 
republic, and as it ever will do where purely unselfish adminis- 



SlKl'llKX GROVER CLEVELAND. 19 

tration is expected. Nor had he stooped to favor his chances of 
election. He was in the hands of the people, and his caus» 
was their cause. 

He was inaugurated, without any ostentatious display, on the 
first Tuesday of January, 1883. He thoroughly understood the 
political situation, and speedily addressed himself to the reforms 
which he knew were expected of him. His inaugural was brief, 
forcible and happy — the duplicate of the man in vigor and sin- 
cerity. It meant business. Touching the civil service of the 
State, he said : 

Subordinates in public place should be selected and retained for their efF.ciency, 
and not because they may be used to accomplish partisan ends. The people have a 
right to demand here, as in cases of private employment, that their money be 
paid to those who will render the best service in return, and that the appoint- 
ment to and tenure of such places should depend upon ability and merit. If the 
clerks and assistants in public departments were paid the same compensation and 
required to do the same amount of work as those employed in prudently conducted 
private establishments, the anxiety to hold these public places would be much 
diminished and the cause of civil-service reform materially aided. The expendi- 
ture of money to influence the action of the people at the polls or to secure legisla- 
tion is calculated to excite the gravest concern. When this pernicious agency is 
successfully employed a representative form of government becomes a sham, and 
laws passed under its baleful influence cease to protect, but are made the means 
by which the rights of the people are sacrificed and the public treasuiy despoiled. 
It is useless nnd foolish to shut our eyes to the fact that this evil exists among us, 
and the party which leads in an honest effort to return to better and purer methods 
will receive the confidence of our citizens and secure their support. It is willful 
blindness not to see that the people care but little for party obligations, when they 
are invoked to countenance and sustain fraudulent and corrupt practices. And it 
is well for our country and for the purification of politics that the people, at times 
fully roused to danger, remind their leaders that party methods should be something 
more than a means used to answer the purposes of those who profit by political 
occupation. 

The first acts of an executive calculated to invite attention and 
criticism, as well as to foreshadow the policy of his administration, 
are his appointments to office. There is no public duty so 
delicate, none in which mistakes recoil so quickly. It is set 
down to Governor Cleveland's credit that his first appoint- 
ments were made with rare good judgment. Political friend 
and foe indorsed them as the wisest selections possible, and 
saw at once in them an earnest of the kind of administrati^i 
they had hoped for and been led to expect. 



20 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Two places were of peculiar importance — that of Superintend- 
ent of Public Works and Commissioner of the New Capitol. 
Public money had been running through these like water 
through a sieve. They were centres of immense patronage and 
power, and were consequently much coveted by those who 
would use them for political purposes. Both offices employed 
hundreds of men. For each of them Governor Cleveland 
selected a man fitted by practice and .special knowledge to do 
the required work. They were both outspoken, square-dealing 
experts in the business they were called upon to conduct. After 
their appointment the ugly rumors of corruption which formerly 
centred about their places were hushed, and the people were sat- 
isfied that order and economy prevailed where once all was con- 
fusion, extravagance and distrust. 

All other appointments were characterized by the same inde- 
pendence and close discernment of fitness and character. In so 
far as these acts could contribute to energy and purity of admin- 
istration, it was manifest that Governor Cleveland was bound to 
prove an exceptional executive, that he had within him a pro- 
bity, fearlessness and business address before which the better 
sentiment of the State must bow with respect. 

It must not be supposed that he escaped the vulgar criticism 
of those who could not use him for their ambitious and corrupt 
purposes. No great, unselfish, direct, single-purposed man can 
act either his business or political part without incurring the 
opposition, and even inviting the censure, of the smaller and 
narrower herd who delight in detraction and feed on enmities. 
The measure of admiration for Governor Cleveland, while a can- 
didate before the Chicago Convention, was well expressed by a 
prominent delegate who said, " I love the man for the enemies 
he has made." It is not complimentary to our political society 
U) feel that true greatness is often an invitation for envious dis- 
crimination and malignant attack. Yet we fear it must be ac- 
cepted as true that those virtues which we most seek and prize 
in public men are the very ones whose persistent e.xercise pro- 
voke the bitterest hostility of the tricky and unconscionable few. 
Out of the million voters of the Empire State, only a modicum 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 21 

of more trading politicians chose to withhold their admiration 
for Governor Cleveland's energetic and business-like policy, as 
foreshadowed ami proved by his executive appointments, lie 
showed in tliem all a keen analysis of character and a knowledge 
of official fitness w^hich were in the highest degree complimen- 
tary. In e\'ery instance the result proved the wisdom of his 
choice, and in no respect has his administration been more pow- 
crfiilly vindicated. 

In attention to the details of legislation Governor Cleveland 
proved himself constant, guarded and thoughtful. His mes- 
sages, models of terseness and vigor, were laden with clear-cut, 
practical advice, so that even the most wayward could not mis- 
take his spirit and meaning. It may well be questioned whetiier 
any State administration ever crowded into so brief a space so 
many substantial and far-reaching reforms. And what is more 
worthy of note, this monumental work was marred in but few 
places by idle, irrelevant and impracticable legislation, owing to 
his watchfulness and free use of the veto power. 

Perhaps his administration was expected to achieve most in the 
way of reforms in the government of New York city. If judged 
by their extent and importance, it was wonderfully successful, 
and too much credit cannot be given the executiv^e through 
whose agency they were effected. In urging and fostering them 
he had to combat an element in his own party, which had all 
along been defiant of interference. But the seven reform bills 
relating to the city went through and received his approval all 
the same. The autocratic power of the old Board of Aldermen 
was smashed, the princely incomes of county officers were cut 
down to respectable salaries, the political atmosphere was puri- 
fied, a freer and better ballot v/as promised. No more difficult 
task ever lay before an executive. He was compelled to brave 
an opposition at once political and personal, clamorous and 
slanderous, malignant and threatening. He never swerved for 
a moment, but went right on. Let it be written that what fifty 
years of effort on the part of a score of governors fiilcd to 
achieve for New York city was accomplished by Governor 
Cleveland in a single year of energetic^ fearless and consistent 
cidministration. 



22 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

The general features of his administration were no less accept- 
able to the people and creditable to the man and the official. 
The parts which have been most criticised were those which 
on thoughtful examination, or left alone to be judged by 
their results, tended most to his honor. A few of the acts 
must be mentioned here because their merits provoked discus- 
sion, and attempts were then made to turn them to political ac- 
count. They should be understood lest, peradventurc, some 
thoughtless person might jump at wrong conclusions respecting 
them. 

The first one of moment wv^s the Five-Cent Fare bill. It was 
deemed important as a blow of the laboring people of New York 
at the Elevated Railroad, or, as the cry was, at monopoly. This 
bill the Governor, with characteristic moral courage, and after 
an exhaustive examination of its provisions, vetoed. His action 
provoked the unreasonable hostility of those who thought them- 
selves aggrieved. As to the merits of the bill the veto showed 
that it was clearly in violation of existing contracts, and uncon- 
stitutional. Approval would therefore have been a wrong. 
The bill would have righted nothing, but would have resulted 
in endless lawsuits and the expenditure of thousands of dollars 
of public money. Moreover it would have jeopardized the right 
the workingman already had, to ride, at the only hours possible 
for him to use the railways, at a five-cent fare. The veto was 
one wholly in his interest, as the sequel proved. Referring 
to his message, the Tribune editorially said : 

"The message containing his reasons for so doing is straight- 
forward and forcible, and we believe will be pronounced sound 
by most of those who have been strenuous in their demands for 
a reduction of fares on the elevated roads. His objections to 
the measure are of a serious nature. He argues that to suffer it 
to become a law would mean the impairment of the obligation 
of a contract, involving a breach of faith and a betrayal of con- 
fidence by the State." 

The second was a Mechanics' Lien bill, which was claimed to 
give workingmen greater security for their wages. It was a 
thoughtless and carelessly drawn act. The veto in this instance 



STEPHEN GROVKR CLEVELAND. 23 

showed that the liill was wlioUy in the interest n( lawyers and 
hangers-on of courts ; that it largely increased the fees and costs 
of entering and enforcing mechanics' liens; and that either 
through atcident or design it repealed several existing mechanics' 
lien laws, including one specially applicable to the city of New 
York. The security of workingmen's wages was evidently the 
last thing thought of by the franiers of the bill, and workingnien 
themselves are clearly indebted to the Governor, in this instance, 
for the measure of protection they enjoy. The Governor's 
memorandum, in which fatal objections were noticed, read as 
follows : 

" The bill repeals in distinct terms a number of mechanics* 
lien laws, including one specially applicable to the city of New 
York. I notice two features which I think objectionable enough 
to warrant me in declining to sign it. First, it gives all parties 
having claims four months after performance of work or furnish- 
ing of material to file a lien. Second, it allows on proceedings ' 
to enforce the lien the same costs as in foreclosure cases. This 
would be quite onerous, and, I think, should not be allowed." 

A third was the Twelve Hour bill, limiting a day's work for 
employes on passenger railways to twelve hours. This bill 
was vetoed because it was a buncombe enactment, too loosely 
drawn to be effective, and violative of the sanctity of contracts 
made as well as the freedom of those to be made. Strict justice 
required the step he took. His reasons were cogen.Iy and 
clearly stated, and every lav/yer recognized their force at the 
time. The Governor's memoraiulum, on which the veto mes- 
sage was based, read as folKnvs : 

" It is distinctly and palpably class legislation, in that it only 
applies to conductors and drivers on horse railroads. It does 
not prohibit the making of a contract for any number of hours' 
work, I think, and if it does, it is an interference with the em- 
ployes' as well as employers' rights. If the car-drivers and 
conductors work fewer hours they must receive less pay, and 
this bill does not prevent that. I cannot think that this bill is 
in the interest of the workingman." 

The Public Worship bill was one granting permission to the 



24 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Catholic clergy to hold services at the House of Refuge, on 
Randall's Island. This bill he never vetoed. It only passed 
one branch of the Assembly, and therefore never reached the 
Governor. Of the Catholic Protectory bill, his failure to approve 
which was harshly used against him, there can be but one 
opinion. It appropriated ^$30,000 to improve the sewerage of 
the Catholic Protectory, built by the church in Westchester 
county for the reception and reform of young men and women 
sent there by magistrates of the surrounding counties. The 
laws of the State prevent the use of public moneys for sectarian 
uses. The fate of the bill would have been the same had the 
institution been Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, 
or that of any other denomination. He was merely keeping his 
oath to observe and execute the laws. 

The unseemly attempt to force a religious issue into a political 
campaign, based on the Governor's action respecting the above 
bill, has already been deprecated by leading spokesmen for the 
church. 

Of this very bill, Mr. Henry L. Hoguet, president of the Pro- 
tectory, says: ^. 

"We never doubted the sincerity of the motive which induced 
Governor Cleveland to withhold his signature to the appropria- 
tion to the Protectory. We thought then, and think now, that 
he was not actuated by any feeling of bigotry or of hostility to 
Catholics or the Catholic institutions. On the contrary. Gover- 
nor Cleveknd is liberal in the extreme, and we are of the firm 
belief that he was led to withholding his approval of the appro- 
priation solely by a sense of public duty as he viewed it." 

Ex-Senator Kernan has well said, " Is it to be supposed for a 
moment that the Catholic Church of this country is in the hands 
of a pack of politicians ? Is its power and influence to be bar- 
tered away by any man or set of men ? That sort of campaign 
bosh I consider malicious, and a direct insult to every Catholic 
in the country. During Mr. Cleveland's administration as Gov- 
ernor of Nev/ York he has acted judiciously in distributing his 
appointments. He has favored no class or creedi He has given 
^ ^^ir share of his patronage to Gathelies»" 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 25 

And SO the Buffalo Catholic Union : 

" Catholics, as such, have asked nothing of Governor Cleve- 
land, and they would be very foolish to do it. Catholics have 
no right to expect from Governor or from President anything as 
Catholics, or on the score of religion. But we have a right to 
be treated as citizens on a perfect equality with all other religious 
denominations, and that no discrimination shall be made against 
us because we are Catholics. Justice, fair play and equal rights 
are all we claim ; and we were not worthy of the high privilege 
of American citizenship were we content with less. 

" Catholic citizens should hokl to strict account at the ballot 
box those who would refuse or deny them perfect equality and 
equal rights with all other denominations. In general we are 
proud to say that our fellow-citizens do recognize, practically 
acknowledge our equal rights before the law; and when * Gov- 
ernor Cleveland treated Catholics and Catholic interests pre- 
cisely as he did the members of other religious bodies and their 
interests,' he only acted as an honest American executive." 

It was also loosely charged that he vetoed an important bill 
which prevented contract labor by children under a certain age. 
As to this we quote his own language: 

" I am sometimes afraid that at least a iQ\^ of those who 
pose as friends of the workingmen do not keep themselves 
fully informed as to what is done for them by way of legis* 
lation. As an illustration I see it stated in the papers as com- 
ing from one who professes to be especially the friend of the 
workingmen, and claiming to be a leader among them, that I 
vetoed a bill preventing contract labor by children in the re- 
formatories and institutions of the State. In point of fact, this 
bill was promptly signed by me, and no other measure touching 
this question has been presented to me." 

Much account was also made of his veto of the Tenure of 
Office bill. But his veto message in this as in all other instances 
came to his rescue. The bill was glaringly defective, and the 
Governor gave his reasons for his course in a message which left 
no doubt of it at the time. The friends of the bill agreed with 
him in belieVirtg thit the measUre as it reached him was defec* 



26 • STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, 

tive and ought not to become a law. Mr. Francis M. Scott, who 
drafted the bill and worked most earnestly for its passage, pub- 
lished a letter in which he said that the Governor was perfectly 
right in vetoing the measure, because as it reached him " it was 
a very shabby piece of legislation, quite unfit to find a place on 
the statute book." 

Altogether his use of the veto power proved discreet and 
was sanctioned by intelligent popular approval. His mes- 
sages were all well-.studied, clear-cut papers, evidences of ex- 
haustive analysis of measures and deep research respecting them, 
and assurances of the most impartial motive and deepest recti- 
tude of intention. Judged by his vetoes alone, which were 
necessarily frequent, his administration not only attracted the 
widest approval but stood unparalleled for its vigor and consist- 
ency. A feeble man, one without the true executive instinct, 
would have quailed before corrupting pressure or unreasoning 
clamor, and often given sanction to measures which his inner 
conscience disapproved. But Grover Cleveland moved on a 
highly conscientious plane, regardless of partisan appeal, brutal 
threat or slanderous arrow, never counting the bearing his con- 
duct might have on his personal or political fortune, apparently 
bound only to the discharge of a duty he owed to the whole 
people. There is observable at every turn of his executive 
career stern adhesion to the cardinal principles that preserved 
and honored his youth and gave him a firm foothold among his 
fellow-citizens as an humble attorney. His scrutiny of every bill 
w^as close, and attended with a sharp legal insight. As he had 
been his own counsellor while mayor, so he was really his own 
Attorney-General while Governor. His vetoes stood every test 
applied to them, and not one rejected bill was passed over his 
protest. Many bills were returned because improperly and 
loosely drawn. These, when amended so as to be no longer in- 
consequential or mere deadwood accumulations on the statute 
books, he afterwards approved. Whether in signing bills or re- 
jecting them he bestowed a diligence, patience, and competent 
inquiry which have elicited the warmest esteem of the fair-minded 
people of the State, They looked upon him as a strong, deter- 



STEIUIEN GR0VP:R CLEVELAND. 27 

mined, unselfish man in wlujni, as executive, there was full 
security. It was this very sense of security that put him in the 
minds of the people as candidate for President, and made hini 
so successful a nominee. 

It must not be imagined that his tenacity of principle and dis- 
regard of consequences made him indifferent or conservative. 
On the contrary he was ever alive to surroundings, watchful of 
the mo\ements of public sentiment, and at the front as a pro- 
gressist, whether the coliunn was political, social or moral. The 
Civil Service Act for the State of New York, a miniature of the 
system recently adopted by the General Government, received 
his unqualified sanction. Of the same spirit were the Reform 
bills for New York city, and numberless others to mention which 
would be tiresome. 

EXECUTIVE HABITS. — The business of Governor Cleve- 
land's office was conducted with the regularity of clock-work. 
Method prevailed everywhere. He came and went at stated 
hours, if we except the long hours of evening when there was 
pressure of work ; then he stayed till far into the night in order 
to keep his executive business well in hand. His industry did 
not permit him to load others with responsibility. The burden 
which was his own he bore with alacrity. The judgment which 
was his own, and which always carried such convincing weight, 
was based on his personal examination of public acts, his actual 
inquiry into public affairs, his direct knowledge of public events. 
As to equipment for carrying on the business of State, perfectly 
modulated department machinery, systematic direction of 
energy and consumption of time, intelligent control of whatever 
concerned the common weal, his office was a model and its 
directorship a profitable study. 

PERSONNEL. — Governor Cleveland was called the " bache- 
lor Governor," and he was not a rich one as some maliciously 
averred and too many supposed. At his home in Buffalo, he 
boarded at the Tifft House, and lived in easy style amid a group 
of bachelor friends who enjoyed comfortable incomes. An ex- 
amination of the assessor's books shows that he paid taxes on 
;^5,000 of personal property, and owned no real estate. 

His figure is tall, broad and commanding, with a tendency to 



28 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

corpulency, which, as yet, does not interfere with great activity 
and incessant industry. His face is regular, clear-cut, and hand- 
some. It is what might be called a parental face, being reserved 
yet genial, firm yet kind, dignified yet not distant. His business 
manner is brusque and simple, precisely that required for des- 
patch. His social mood is pleasant and assuring. He is, when 
not pressed with business care, open to all comers, and all, from 
the rag-picker to prince, find his hand extended, his hearing 
patient, his demeanor cordial. Though of nervous temperament 
he is easy in society, and reserved in emergency. His com- 
plexion is light, his hair brown and thin, his full, square and 
shapely head inclined to baldness. He delights in association 
with his own sex, but does not incline to mixed and fashionable 
society. The executive residence at Albany is a half mile dis- 
tant from the capitol. This distance he always walked both ways. 
His bosom is full of the milk of human kindness and his heart 
big enough to take in all mankind. An anecdote, while he was 
Governor, is apropos 

The crier in one of the courts of Albany was a blind man, who 
lived in the same part of the city as the Governor. He was 
somewhat aged and had become so familiar with the road from 
his home over to the court-house that he generally went alone. 
But one morning he missed his way, and the Governor coming 
along took hnn by the arm and brought him along with him as 
far as the capitol building. As they were about to separate, the 
old gentleman asked the name of his considerate guide. 

" My name is Cleveland," said the Governor. 

" Are you in business in the city ? " 

" Yes. I have an office up here in the capitol." 

" Oh, you are not the Governor ? " 

" Yes. I am. the Governor." 

The poor old fellow was almost beside himself, and went on 
his way with a story to tell as long as he lived. 

A well-known correspondent, writing of an interview with 
the Governor shortly after his first nomination for the Presi- 
dency, says : — 

" When the Governor gets well settled in his chair, takes a good 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 29 

long breath, and adjusts his glasses on the lower part of his nose, 
he looks as wise, as mellow, and as sunshiny as Benjamin Frank- 
lin. He looks as though it would take a very considerable shock 
to knock him off his balance. I asked him the other day if he 
read the papers that abused him. 

" ' Sometimes," said he, with a smile that broke out all over 
his face. 

'* ' Do you ever get disturbed over anything they say ? ' 

" ' Not much. Every man has a right to enjoy his own mind, 
I remember an old fellow who was a neighbor of my father and 
we would sometimes try to get him to come over to our church. 
He was a strong Baptist, and he would always say: " No; you 
folks are Presbyterians, and if I go over to your church I couldn't 
enjoy my mind." Of course, that was the end of the argument.' 

" ' What was the most annoying slander they have ever 
published about you. Governor? ' 

" ' Well, I have been more surprised (and then he did twist 
just a little in his chair) at the way I have been misrepresented 
as to the laboring men than anything else. I don't see how the 
idea ever got out in the first place that I have been opposed to 
the interests of laboring men. I cannot remember one single 
act in my life that could be reasonably construed into anything 
inimical to their best interests. It has been just the other way 
with me. I ha\"e always taken particular pains, whenever it was 
in my power, to sec their interests well guarded. But I ha\'e no 
fear as to the outcome. I have observed that laboring men have 
minds of their own as well as political principles, and when there 
has been a full investigation of my official life the facts will be 
made known, and I am not uneasy as to the result. They talk 
about the workingmen as if they were a lot of sheep to be cor- 
ralled or scattered by this man or that. Most workingmen are 
natural Democrats. Democracy means the rule of the people, 
and the Democratic party has always been the natural friend of 
the workingmen. I do not think any great number of those who 
are in my party will fail to vote for me, first, because they are 
naturally disposed to go with their party, and second, because 
they will learn long before election day that my attitude toward 
them has been misrepresented.' 



30 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

" The Governor had grown .serious enough to lay his glasses 
on the desk and wipe his face with an immense white handker- 
chief." 

THE TAMMANY QUESTION.— Ihe Tammany attitude 
toward Governor Cleveland has been so much commented upon, 
that it is well to know his status respecting it. It was never one 
of hostility, except in so far as Tammany chose to make it such; 
and, as was proved after the Chicago Convention, it failed to pro- 
ject its hostility into the campaign. That organization did, at 
first, undertake to wrestle with the Governor through its sena- 
torial spokesman, who made the mistake of forcing the measures 
of a society rather than honestly representing the people of a 
district. Feeling that he was agent for a clique, and responsible 
to its head, by whom he was selected, the Governor sent a mis- 
sive directly to headquarters, which, in a fearless, straight-for- 
ward way, made known his sentiments. It ran thus : 

Executive Chamber, Albany, October 20, 1883. — Hon. John Kelly — My dear 
Sir : It is not without hesitation that I write this. I have determined to do so, how- 
e»'er, because I see no reason why I sliould not be entirely frank with you. I am 
anxious that Mr. Grady should not be returned to the next Senate. I do not wish 
to conceal the fact that my personal comfort and satisfaction are involved in this 
matter. But I know that good legislation, based upon a pure desir« to promote the 
interests of the people, and the improvement of legislative methods are also deeply 
involved. I forbear to write in detail of the other considerations having relation to 
the welfare of the party and the approval to be secured by a change for the better 
in the character of its representatives. These things will occur to you without sug- 
gestion from me. Youis very truly, Grover Cleveland. 

No comment on this is needed, except that somebody mistook 
Governor Cleveland's unalterable purpose to have " good legis- 
lation" and " improvement of legislative methods" in New York 
city as well as elsewhere. 

AT CHICAGO. — Long before the meeting of the Chi- 
cago Convention indications pointed to Governor Cleveland as 
the proper Democratic nominee for President. The political 
situation was such as to make New York a pivotal State in the 
Presidential contest. His fame as an executive had gone abroad 
in the land. He had the prestige of unprecedented majority in 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 3I 

his favor when he carried off the honors of Governor. He, 
more than any other man spoken of, was the embodiment of all 
the great qualities which combined in the formation of an ideal 
leader. He typed the instincts and sentiments of a younger 
Democracy who loved his independence of character, his ster- 
ling methods, his sublime mastery of circumstances. He stood 
for what the older Democracy most cherished, adherence to 
patriotic tradition, plain, common sense devotion to principle, 
economic and businese-like execution of high official trust. 
There was onl}' one ripple in the current running toward his 
nomination. That was occasioned by the Tammany pebble at 
the bottom of the stream. There the stream murmured, but ran 
rapidly on, its murmur a laugh. 

The Convention was thoroughly representative of the Demo- 
cratic party. As the presiding officer, Col. William F. Vilas, 
said, " The Convention was the greatest and most magnificent 
council of freemen ever assembled on the face of God's round 
globe. For three days it listened to a ' profound debate from the 
greatest speakers in the country' upon the various candidates, 
and the point of order was justly raised that it was contrary to 
the rules governing the Convention to thus discuss the candi- 
dates, but it was unanimously \-oted by the Convention that the 
freest discussion should be permitted, in order to develop all the 
facts obtainable. The debate of three days left no doubt in the 
minds of the delegates as to whom the choice of the Convention 
should be." 

It was particularly noteworthy that amid all the caucusing for 
rival candidates, amid the arguments educed for favorites from 
respective States and sections, amid the formal presentation of 
names to the Convention, no Democratic orator of high and 
unquestioned standing'in his party ever spoke a derogatory ^^•ord 
of Governor Cleveland or expressed a doubt of the propriety and 
fitness of his nomination. It is equally noteworthy that the 
magic of his name was such as to hold his State delegation as a 
unit and turn every malignant attempt to break it into an argu- 
ment and inspiration in his behalf 

At 3.55 p. M. of July 9th, 1884, Mr. Lockwood, N. Y., took 



32 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 



the platform to place in nomination the name of Grover Cleve- 
land. He did this in an eloquent speech, in which he said: 

The responsibility which he felt was made greater when he remembered that 
the richest paiges of American history had been made up from the records of Demo- 
cratic administrations, and remembered that the outrage of 1876 was still unavenged. 
No man had a greater respect than he for the honored names presented to the Con- 
vention, but the world was moving, and new men, who had participated but little 
in politics, were coming to the front. Three years ago he had the honor in the 
city of Buffalo to present the name of the same gentleman for the oflice of mayor. 
Without hesitation the name of Grover Cleveland had been accepted as the candi- 
date. [Applause in the galleries and delegations.] 

The result of that election and of the holding of that office was that in less than 
nine months the Slate of New York found itself in a position to want such a can- 
didate, and when in the Convention of 1882 his name was presented for the office 
of Governor of the State of New York the same class of people knew that that 
meant honest government; that it meant pure government; that it meant Demo- 
cratic government, and it was ratified. Now the State of New York came and 
asked that there be given to the Independent and Democratic voters of the country 
— the young men of the country, the new blood of the country — the name of 
Grover Cleveland. 

Tlie nomination was eloquently seconded by Harrison of Illi- 
nois and Jones of Minnesota. 

The first ballot was had on the night of the loth. The friends 
of Governor Cleveland had computed his strength at 397 votes. 
Their count proved to be exceedingly close. To show how his 
strength was diversified as well as its chief sources a view must 
be taken of the ballot itself: 



THE FIRST BALLOT. 



States and 


Cleve- 




Thur- 




McDon- 






Car- 


Territories. 


land. 


Randall. 


man. 


Bayard. 


ald. 


Hoadly. 


li>>le 


Alabama 


.. 4 






14 










Arkansas 


.. 14 
















California 







16 












Colorado 


















Connecticut 


.. 12 
















Delaware 








6 










Florida 


.'.' 8 




. . 


. . 










Ge<)r<^ia 


10 


2 
I 


■ • 


12 

2 


II 

30 








Illinois 


... 28 




Intliana 






Iowa 


• • 23 


. . 




I 










Kansas 


... II 


• • 


2 


5 


.. 








Kentucky 







•• 


.. 


•• 






26 



STEl'llKN (;RU\ER CLEVIil.ANlX 



3*3 



Cleve- 
land 



States and 

Territoriei. 

Lduisiana 13 

Maine . 12 

Maryland 6 

Mas'^acluiscUs 3 

Michigan 14 

Minnesota 14 



THE FIRST BALLOT — ConHnued. 

Thur- 
RanJall. man. 



Miss:Sfiij)pi 

Mis^imri 

Xcbiaslca 

Xcvaila 

New Hanipsliire. 

New Jersey 

New York 

Norih Car.'lina . 

*Olii() 

Oretjon 

Pennsylvania 

Kli.)de Island. . . 
South Carolina. . 

Tennessee 2 

Texas II 

\'eim')nt 8 

Virginia 13 

"West Virginia 4 

Wisconsin 12 

Total 



Bayard. 
I 

10 
23 



IS 



McDon- 
ald. 



Ho.-idly. 
I 



Car- 

lisls. 



i: 



55 



24 



27 



392 7S 88 170 56 3 

* P.eforc the announcement of the result Ohio's vote was changed to following : 

Thurman, 23 ; Hoadly, 2 ; Cleveland, 21. West Virginia : Randall,!; Eayard, 

2 ; Cleveland, 7 ; Thurman, 2. 

Sr.\Tri:RiNG. — TihU-n received I vote in Tennessee, Hendricks i in Illinois, 

I'lower 4 in Wiscon-^in. 

At 11.20 A. M. of the iitli.the second ballot began, and ended 
at I p. M. }^very face and movement in the vast assemblage be- 
trayed the nervous anxiety with which the result was looked 
forwar^l to. The withdrawal of Mr. Randall's name was at- 
tended wilh great excitement, as it seemed to be clearing the 
Pennsylvania delegation for determined action in some new 
direction. The withdrawal of McDonald's name was to make 
way for that of Mr. Hendricks, upon whom all the opposition to 
Mr. Cleveland thought they could consolidate. The balloting 
proceeded amid intense suspense, and with satisfactory gains for 
Cleveland until Pennsylvania was called. Forty-two of her 
votes went to Cleveland. This broke the spell that held the 
Convention. Amid exciting cheers and enthusiastic bustle the 
States began to rearrange their votes as if on final ballot. The 



34 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 



result was Cleveland's nomination by 683 votes, or 136 more 
than the necessary two-thirds. 



THE SECOND BALLOT. 



States and 
Territories. 



Cleve- 
land. 



Alabama 5 

Arkansas 14 

California 16 

Colorado 6 

Connecticut 12 

Delaware 

Florida 8 

Georgia 22 

Illinois 43 

Indiana ^o 

Iowa 26 

Kansas 17 

Kentucky 4 

Louisiana 15 

Maine 12 

Maryland 16 

Massachusetts S 

Michigan 23 

Minnesiita 14 

Mississippi 2 

Missouri 32 

Neloraska 9 

Nevada 

New Hampshire 8 

New Jersey 5 

New York 72 

North Caiolina 22 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 7 

South Carolina 10 

Tennessee 24 

Texas 26 

Vermont 8 

Virginia 23 

West Virginia 10 

Wisconsin 22 

Arizona 2 

Dakota 2 

Idaho 2 

Montana 2 

New Mexico 2 

Utah 2 

W'ashingtnn Territory. ... 2 

Wyoming 2 

Dist. of Columbia 2 



4(3 

6 

42 



Mc 



Bayard. 



Don- 
Id. 



Thur- 
man. 



Randall. 



Hen- 
dricks 



I 

2X 



7>^ 



Total 6S3 81 y^ 

Necessary for choice, 547. 



45>^ 



STEPHEN GRUVER CLEVELAND. 35 

The general result was announced as follows: Whole num- 
ber of votes cast, 820; necessary to a choice, 547. Cleveland 
received 683 ; Hendricks, 45^ ; Bayard, 8i^ ; McDonald, 2; 
Randall, 4 ; Thurman, 4. The question was then put on Mr. 
Menzies' motion to make the nomination unanimous, and it was 
carried triumphantly. 

It may be profitable at this point to glance at the Democratic 
conventions of the past. The nominations made therein for the 
last fifty years are as follows : 

1836, Martin Van Buren, ist ballot. 

1840, Martin Van Buren, unanimously. 

1844, James K. Polk, 9th ballot. 

1848, Lewis Cass, 4th ballot. 

1852, Franklin Pierce, 49th ballot, 

1856, James Buchanan. 17th ballot. 

i860, John C. Breckinridge, 56th ballot. 

1864, George B. McClellan, 1st ballot. 

1868, Horatio Seymour, 23d ballot. 

1872, Horace Greeley, endorsed. 

1876, Samuel J. Tilden, 2d ballot. 

18S0, Winfield S. Hancock, 2d ballot. 

1884, Grover Clcvelantl, 2d ballot. 1888. by acclamation. 

The i860 convention that nominated Breckinridge ballctcd 
fifl)'-five times at Charleston, S. C, then adjourned to P>altiinon.', 
June 18, when Breckinridge was unanimously nominated on the 
first ballot. The " bolters " met the same day and nominated 
Stephen A. Douglas on the first ballot. In 1852 Franl^lin 
Pierce's name first appeared on the thirty-fifth ballot, when Vir- 
ginia gave him her fifteen votes. Lewis Cass and James liu- 
chanan were the leading candidates on forty-five ballots, but at 
no time did cither have a majority of the convention, while a 
two-thirds vote was required to nominate. 

RECEPTION OF THE NEWS.—T\\q news of Governor 
Cleveland's nomination was received with demonstrations ol 
delight by the Democratic party and by the independent clement 
of the Republican party. Part)' newspapers in general spoke of 
it as a ho[)eful and proper political step. Large ratification 



36 STKPIIEX GROVER CLEVELAND, 

meetings were improvised in city and village, at which great 
enthusiasm prevailed, and from which proceeded hearty endorse- 
ment of the Convention's action. What is known as the inde- 
pendent, or bolting Republican press, was, if anything, more 
encomiastic than the regular Democratic press. The sentiments 
of a few of these will t}'pe tb.e whole: 

Governor Cleveland will be supporte.l by a united and aggressive Democratic 
party. He will have the votes of tens of thousands of Independent Republicans. 
He will have the support of the larger part of successful newspapers of the 
country, both secular and religious. He will have the contidence and votes of ilie 
business men of the land. It will be shown that tliis poor boy who has worked 
his way up to the proud position which he now liolds knows what it is to work day 
in and day out, and that he is a true friend of the toiling masses. — Boston Globt 
(Butler's organ). 

The nomination of Governor Cleveland defines sharply the actual issue of the 
Presidential election of this year. He is a man whose absolute official integrity 
lias never been questioned, who has no laborious and doubtful explanations to 
undertake, and who is universally known as the Governor of New York elected 
by an unprecedented majority which was not partisan, and represented both the 
votes and the consent of an enormous body of Republicans, and who as the Chief 
Executive of the State has steadily withstood the blandishments and the threats of 
the worst elements of his party, and has justly earned the reputation of a cour- 
ageous, independent, and efficient friend and promoter of administrative reform. 
His name has become that of the especial representative among our public men of 
the integrity, purity, and economy of administration which are the objects of the 
most intelligent and patriotic citizens. — Harpin-'s Weekly. 

It is not only in what he clearly represents but in what he distinctly opposes that 
Grover Cleveland is strong before the .American people. His career has made 
him the exponent of clean and honest politics. In the administration of public 
trusts he has shown that he is superior to partisan bi.ns, indifferent to such party 
ntcrests as are in contact with official pioliity and the public welfare. He has 
been severely tried in the important and rcsjionsible post he now occupies. He has 
resisted the importunities of designing politicians, he has defeated the purposes of 
selfish schemers. All those members of his own party who are not absorbed in 
private aims which are in conflict with the public good are outspoken in his praise; 
and he has won the good opinion of all Republicans who are not so far gone in 
partisanship as to have lost the power to commend upright conduct in a political 
adversary. — N. Y. Times. 

Of the kind of experience which the present .situation in national affairs most 
imperatively calls for, experience in administration, Cleveland h.as more than any 
one who has entered the White House since i860, more than any man whom either 
party has nominated within that period, except Seymour and Tilden — more than 
Lincoln more than Grant, more than Hayes, more than Garfield, more than 
Arthur. 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 37 

He laid at the start that best of all foundations for American statesmanship by 
becoming a good lawyer. He began his executive career by being a good county 
sheriff. He was next inUawted with the adminisuation of a great city — as severe a 
test of a man's capacity in dealing with men an<.l affairs as any American in our 
lime can undergo. In botii ofUccs he gave bounilless satisfaction to his fellow-citi- 
zens of both parlies. His nomination for the Governoiship of this Slate came in 
due course, and at a cri.->is in State alfairs which very closely resembled that which 
we are now witnessing in national affairs. His election by an unprecedented 
majority is now an old story. It was the beginning of a revolution. It was the 
first thorough fright the tricky ami jobbing element in politics ever received here. 
It for the first time in their experience gave reform an air of reality. But it might, 
had Cleveland proved a weak or incompetent man, have turnctl out a very bad 
blow for pure politics. 

Luckily, he justihed all the expeetatiuns and even all the hopes of those who 
voted for him. No friend of good government, who, in disregard of party lies, 
cast his vole for liini, has had reason to regret it for one moment. We owe to his 
vigorous support a large number of reformatory measures, which people in this 
State for forty years had sighed for with little more expectation of seeing them 
enacted than of seeing the Millennium. In other words, he has arrested the growth 
of political despair among large numbers both of young and old voters in this State. 
His messages, too, have beeft models of sound common sense and penetraiing 
sagacity, clothed in the terse and vigorous English which shows that there is a 
man and not a windy phrasemonger behind the pen. Though last not least, his 
best work has been done in utter disregard of the hostility of that element in his 
own party which for so many years has made it an object of mingled hate and fear 
to the best part of the American people. He is, in truth, a Democrat of the better 
age of the Democratic party, when it was a party of siniplicity and economy, and 
might almost have put its platform into the golden rule of giving every man his due, 
minding your own business, and asking nothing of government but light taxes, and 
security in the field and by the fireside. No one who has entered the White House 
for half. a century, except Lincoln in his second term, has offered reformers such 
solid guarantees that as President he will do his own thinking, and be his own 
master in the things which pertain to the Presidency. — N. Y. Evening Post. 

Governor Cleveland has shown through the whole of his life, private and public, 
from boyhood to his present distinction, that he has the sterling qualities befitting 
the exalted office of Chief Executive of the United States. It is the highest func- 
tion of that office to administer the laws with an eye single to the public welfare. 
Our Government has been tersely described as " of the people, by the people, and 
for the people." No eminent public man has exhibited a better understanding of 
that definition of the American government than Grover Cleveland ; none has ex- 
emplified it better than he has in his performance of public duty, and but few, very 
few indeed, have exemplified it so well. His guiding characteristics have been loy- 
alty to duty, courage in the discharge of it, and the best and most faithful perform- 
ance of it within his power. These are strong words; strong because ihey are true. 
— Philadelphia Lcdi^er. 

The Governor himself received the news of the nomination 



38 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

with entire equanimity. He had not shown himself ambitious 
of the honors, had done nothing directly to secure them. They 
came as a free-will offering, and by virtue of a record made in 
the path of duty. He would not have been disappointed had 
the Convention in its wisdom seen fit to similarly honor some 
one else. Yet he did not shirk the responsibilities which he 
knew were inseparable from candidacy, nor fail to announce 
himself as gratified with his political preference. During a 
serenade at the Executive mansion on the evening after his 
nomination he delivered the following tasteful and timel)- .speech : 

Fellow-citizens — I cannot l)ut be gratified with this kindly greeting. I find that 
I am fast reaching the point v.here I shall count the people of Albany not merely 
as fellow-citizens, but as townsmen and neighbors. On this occasion I am of course 
aware that you pay no compliment to a citizen and present no personal tribute, but 
that you have come to demonstrate your loyalty and devotion to a cause in which 
you are heartily enlisted. The American people are about to exercise in its highest 
sense their power and right of sovereignty. They are to call in re\ icw before them 
their public servants and the representatives of political parties, and I'emar.d of them 
an account of their stewardship. Parties may be so long in power and may become 
s> arrogant and careless of the interests of the people as to grow heedless of their 
responsibility to their masters. But the time comes as certainly as death when the 
people weigh them in the balance. The issues to be adjudicated by the nation's 
great assize are made up and are about to be submitted. We believe that the people 
are not receiving at the han'ds of the party which for nearly twenty-four years has 
directed the affairs of the nation the full benefits to which they are entitled — pure, 
just and economical rule, and we believe that the ascendency of genuine Democratic 
principles will insure a better Government and greater happiness and prosperity to 
all the people. To reach the sober thought of the nation and t<' disl.xlge an enemy 
entrenched behind spoils and patronage involves a struggle which, if we underesti- 
mate, we invite defeat. I am profoundly impressed with the responsibility of the 
part assigned to me in this contest. My heart, I know, is in the cause, and I pledge 
you that no effort of mine shall be wanting to secure the victory which I believe to 
be within the achievement of the Democratic hosis. Let us, then, enter upon the 
campaign now fairly opened, each one appreci:iting well the part he has to perform, 
ready with solid front to do battle for better government, confidently, courageously, 
always honorably, and with a firm reliance upon the intelligence and patriotism of 
the American people. 

The nomination of Governor Cleveland for the Presidency was 
fittingly followed in Convention by the nomination of that ster- 
ling old Deniocrat, Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana, for the 
Vice-Presidency. These two made a ticket which proved a, 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 39 

source of inspiration to the party. Even if it at first failed to 
awaken the enthusiasm prox'oked by the RepubHcan leaders, 
Blaine and Logan, it had better sta} ing powers. Geographically 
it was a tower of strength, fi)r ?>Ir. Cleveland represented the 
fighting-ground in the East, while Mr Hendricks represented it 
in the West. Both candidates were thus at an advantage which 
it would require more than personal magnetism and campaign 
clatter on the part of opponents to overcome. 

THE CAMPAIGN. — The Convention backed up these able 
candidates by an admirable platform, and the memorable Presi- 
dential campaign of 1884 was duly opened. Cleveland and 
Hendricks had not only to contend with the Republican nom- 
inees, who were both strong and brilliant campaignists, backed 
by a party which had v/on victories for twenty-four years and 
with all the patronage of the government in its control, but with 
that veteran campaignist, B. F. Butler, who headed the Labor 
ticket, and St. John, who headed the Prohibitionists. The cam- 
paign at first took a vicious, personal turn, but this diversion soon 
spent its force and the more serious questions involved came to 
the surface. At this point Cleveland's ref)rni record in New 
York came mightily to his aid His career had been brief, to 
be sure, but it had also been one of consistency and persistency, 
and admiration for it proved a wall which could not be shaken 
by the enemy's batteries. He held his party throughout one of 
the most heated campaigns known to American history, and his 
strength was constantly augmented by accessions from the Re- 
publican ranks, all of whom claimed to see in him the embodi- 
ment of the reform spirit which seemed to be abroad in the land. 
In the very last stages of what every political observer felt to be 
a desperate battle, when the scales of victory were tipping now 
this way and now that, the Republican candidate tried the effect 
of his powerful pcrsonalism directly on New York State, to 
which the contest had, by common consent, narrowed. It is not 
worth while to inquire how much this attcm}:)t was worth, nor 
whether it lost or won the battle. Speculation is out of place in 
the face of figures. The official returns of New York showed a 
plurality of 1,047 ^'otes for Cleveland and Hendricks, which as- 



40 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

sured them twenty out of the thirty-eight Slates, a majority of 
thirty-seven votes in the electoral college and a popular vote of 
4,911,017, as against 4,848,334 for Blaine and Logan. 

It thus passed to the credit of Grover Cleveland that he 
headed the ticket which won the first Presidential victory for his 
party in twenty-four years, and that, too, against the one man 
whom the Republican party claimed to be invincible. Not only 
this, the victory was a political revolution which even enthusiasts 
of his own party thought to be impossible a few months before, 
so strongly were the Republicans entrenched in power and so 
skilful were they in party manipulation. 

But while the national election brought to Cleveland, Hen- 
dricks and the Democratic party a great victory, it brought also 
a responsibility which the party had never before been called 
upon to meet, for not only parties, but the nation had made great 
strides forward since tlie days of President Buchanan. How 
would the new President and Vice-President meet this responsi- 
bility? Would they prove safe guardians of the greatest and 
gravest public trust in the world ? Would they honor themselves, 
their part)', the people at large, our American institutions? Un- 
fortunately, the Vice-President did not live long enough (he died 
November 25, 1885) to contribute much by counsel to the suc- 
cess of the administration of which he was an honored part. 
But, fortunately, the elections of the year 1884 gave to the lower 
house of Congress a majority of Democrats. The new Presi- 
dent could find in this fact a source of encouragement. With 
or without these, however, he would move boldly and confi- 
dently f(jrward in the line of duty, as he had moved before, and 
trust to the honest sentiment of his countrymen for appreciative 
support. 

AS PRESIDEA^T. — Mr. Cleveland was not carried away with 
the high honors conferred upon him by the American people. 
A few modest responses to the many congratulations showered 
upon him marked the extent of liis exultation. He had not, 
owing to official duties, plunged actively into the campaign, and 
he felt that his success was due to his record rather than his 
personalism. Moreover, he had a keen sense of the graver ob- 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 41 

ligations soon to be assumed and could not afford to" indulge in 
the lighter play of feelings which simple victory might have war- 
ranted, lie was President now, and this distinction meant, to 
one of his temperament, adhesion to duty, desire for reform and 
full sense of responsibility, far more than to the ambitious and 
ostentatious politician. He could see ahead of him mighty 
questions which pressed for attention and solution, and towering 
above all was the problem of a policy which should meet the 
terrible exactions of party and at the same time address itself to 
the judgments of that intelligent Republican contingent which 
stood by him through the fierce flames of the campaign. 

No President ever came into office with a greater prestige for 
independent thouglits and sound business methods, and none 
with more freedom from the trammels of partisanship. He had 
tlie best wishes of the nation at his back, and in every respect 
was in an enviable situat(t)n for mapping his future plans without 
haste and with the least possible interference from party busy- 
bodies. 

When officially notified of his selection he wrote an admirable 
letter of acceptance, in which he took high ground as to the 
nature of public office, looking upon it wholly as a public trust, 
to be administered for the benefit of the people. In view of the 
dangers Vv'hich attended administrations whose chiefs sought re- 
election, he deprecated the seeking of second terms on the part 
of Presidents and the turning of party machinery to personal 
ends. The letter was well received by the country and proved 
an earnest of what was to come when the new administration 
should get fairly on its feet. 

President Cleveland was inaugurated on I\Iarch 4, 18S5, amid 
ceremonies which were truly national. The throng of \isitors at 
the National Capitol was estimated at half a million. Inaugura- 
tion day was auspicious in its spring-like brightness and balm. 
Flags floated from all the public buildings and the spacious avenue.<? 
were gay with decorations. The procession was the largest that 
ever passed over Pennsylvania avenue, and the militarj' escort, 
made up of battalions from the various States, was exceeded 
only by the great reviews which took place at the close of the 



42 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

civil war in 1865. General IT. W. Slocum was chief marshal, 
and the United States troops were under command of Major- 
Gcncral Ayres. President Arthur and President-elect Cleveland 
rode with two Senators in an open carriage drawn by four bay 
horses, and next came Vice-President-elect Hendricks in a car- 
riage with Senators, drawn by four white horses. The proces- 
sion passed along amid vociferous cheers from the multitudes on 
either side. 

The objective point was the Senate chamber in the Capitol, 
where were already assembled the Supreme Court, the Dip- 
lomatic Corps and many prominent officials of the army and 
navy. Shortly before twelve o'clock President Arthur entered 
the chamber and was escorted to his seat. The deputy sergeant- 
at-arms then announced the " President-elect of the United 
States," and the entire assemblage rose as Mr. Cleveland passed 
down the aisle and took his seat by the'side of President Arthur, 
Vice-President Hendricks then entered and advanced to the 
desk of the presiding officer, Senator Edmunds, president p7-o 
tempore, who administered to him the oath of office and declared 
the Senate adjourned sine die. Vice-President Hendricks then 
took the chair, delivered a short address, called the Senate to 
order and administered the oath to the new Senators. When 
the Senate had thus been organized, a procession was formed by 
those in the chamber which mo\'ed to the platform erected in 
front of the eastern portico of the Capitol. In front, upon the 
pla7>a, stood 200,000 people, who received the President-elect with 
deafening applause. As soon as silence could be commanded he 
delivered his inaugural in such a rich, clear voice that it was 
heard by nearly all in that vast assemblage. When he had 
finished he turned to Chief-Justice Waitc and said: " I am now 
ready to take the oath prescribed by law." The Chief-Justice 
held in his hand a small Bible which had been given to Mr. 
Cleveland by his mother when he had started to seek his fortune 
in the world. Placing his right hand on this he received the 
oath of office and then kissed the sacred book, his lips touching 
verses 5-10, inclusive, of the Ii2th Psalm. 

Then those on the platform congratulated the President, the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 43 

multitude made the welkin ring with cheers, a hundred bands 
played " Hail to the Chief," and the cannon at the navy yard 
and arsenal thundered forth the " Presidential salute." The pro- 
cession re-formed, with President Cleveland at its head. It 
marched to the White House, where the President took the 
grand stand and reviewed the inunense procession as it passed 
by for three lon<^' hours. In the cvining came fireworks and the 
inauguration ball, participated in by io,000 jjcople. This was 
regarded as a fitting close to the brilliant ceremonies of the day. 

In the President's brief and chaste inaugural he pledged himself 
and his administration to a close observance of the Constitution 
and laws; to peace, commerce and honest friendship with all na- 
tions and entangling alliances with none; to care for the public 
domain and fair treatment of the Indians ; to rigid enforcement of 
the laws against polygamy and the immigration of foreign ser- 
vile classes ; to strict execution of the civil service laws on the 
principle announced in his letter of acceptance, that public office 
is a public trust ; to limitation of public expenditure to actual 
needs of government. The document was a plain statement of 
the President's views, and was satisfying in every respect. It 
gave pronu'se that he would launch his administration on broad 
and safe waters, and would not dare that which was entirely 
novel, brilliant and startling. He preferred to be reposeful rather 
than dashing, sure of his ground rather than take chances in a 
sudden rush for notoriety over surfaces which had not been sur- 
vej'ed and mapped by political pioneers. 

During his first months in office President Cleveland pro- 
ceeded quietl}' and cautiously toward the adoption of a policy 
and purpose. He examined every situation with care, and per- 
haps gave closer personal attention to routine work than any 
predecessor in the high office. He was j'oung, vigorous in mind 
and body and a lover of detail. He had surrounded himself 
with the following admirable Cabinet, which was regarded as 
happily chosen and thoroughly representative of the best in- 
terests of his party and the country at large : 

Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard, Del. 

Secretary of Treasury Daniel Manning, N. Y, 



44 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Secretary of War Wm. C. Endicott, Mass. 

Secretary of Navy Wm. C. Whitney, N. Y. 

Secretary of Interior L. Q. C. Lamar, Miss. 

Attorney-General Aug. LL Garland, Ark. 

Postmaster General Wm. F. Vilas, Wis. 

This was a body of counsellors in which any administration 
might place the utmost confidence. He was no less fortunate 
in having- for his private secretary Colonel Daniel S. Lamont, 
who had served hiin faithfully in that capacity when he was 
Governor and who had such a comprehensive knowledge of 
public men and political life as is vouchsafed to few. The pos- 
sessor of great personal urbanity, always clear-headed, very reti- 
cent, especially concerning executive affairs, he was emphatically 
the " right man in the right place." 

At the Cabinet meetings held at the executive mansion, the 
President sits at the head of the council table and the members 
occupy positions on either side, the Secretary of State coming 
first at his right and the Secretary of the Treasury first at his 
left. The Secretary of the Interior occupies the end opposite to 
the President. In some administrations — notably those of Taylor 
and Pierce — the members of the Cabinet assumed a power 
they did not really possess in law and became almost Venetian 
in their oligarchical spirit. But Mr. Cleveland has not chosen to 
act the part of King Log in these councils, and his voice has 
ever been that of a leader when questions touching the policy 
of his administration arose. His habit of assuming responsi- 
bility was not remitted in the least amid higher honors and more 
imposing place, and he came to be known as the most untiring 
worker and closest student of affairs in the grand councils of the 
nation. 

FIRST MESSAGE. — From the date of inauguration to the 
opening of the Forty-ninth Congress, Dec. 7, 1885, the admin- 
istration of President Cleveland moved smoothly and satisfac- 
torily along. His message to that Congress was waited for with 
anxiety by the country, as his first opportunity for presenting in 
detail a plan of administration. The document proved to be a 
lengthy but very worthy State paper, embracing in the main 



STEPHEN GROVER CI-EVEI.y\Nn. 45 

three distinct points — the silver question, the tariff and ci\il 
service, with brief discussion of the Indian problem, commercial 
treaties, Mormonism, the navy, and other current subjects. He 
disapproved of further coinage of the Bland dollar, advised con- 
servative action respecting the tariff, gave much dignified and 
courageous advice relative to civil service. The nation was 
pleased with such outline of administration as the message 
piomised, and it was especially lauded by the independent Re- 
publicans who had supported him for office. 

He found in the House a Democratic majority which was in 
thorough accord with him, and man)' special champions in 
the Senate, among whom were the eloquent Arthur P. Gorman, 
of Maryland, and Senator Kenna, of West Virginia. However 
smoothl}' a new administration may run while the Congress is 
not in session, it cannot expect to escape criticism and antag- 
onism when brought into close contact with the legislative bod\' 
of the land, especially if all, or a part of it, be of the opposition. 
The Senate was Republican, and its first duty was to pass on 
the numerous nominations of the President. A hitch occurred 
almost at the start, \\hen the Senate asked for .sight of the 
recommendations on which the President had based some of 
his important appointments, and also of papers on which he had 
based his removals. He regarded them as personal papers, and 
the Attorney General sustained his refusal to show* them. The 
Senate took an opposite view, but the affair was so adjusted as 
not to interfere greatly with the serenity of either the President 
or Senators. 

The first session of the Forty-ninth Congress lasted till Aug. 
5, 1 886. It accomplished but little to affect the country or the 
status of parties. Looked in uj)on criticall)', the administration 
of President Cleveland had thus far been plain, straightforward 
and unmomentous. Peace and prosperity reigneil, and the polit- 
ical re\-olution of 1884 had brought none of the disasters so 
freely prophesied by croakers. It was to some extent true that 
Mr. Cleveland's own party had not profited as much as it desired 
from his administration. But he could well afford to face this 
situation, for the utmost that could be laid to his discredit was 



46 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

the exercise of prudence in changing from one set of office- 
holders to another, and the bringing to bear severe discrimina- 
tion in making up his mind as to the quahfications of those who 
should represent him. If the resolve to have a safe administra- 
tion did not suit a few hot-heads who would have overturned 
everything and brought disgrace on the party, he was not greatly 
disturbed about it, but went on his cautious way, sure of the 
fact that the end would vindicate his procedure. 

The second session of the Forty-ninth Congress, which met 
Dec. 6, 1886, gave the President another opportunity to present 
his views to the country in an annual message. The interim 
had been signalized by nothing of political moment except a 
more pronounced desire on the part of Democrats who favored 
tariff revision to accomplish something in that direction during 
the pending session. The Congressional elections had been held 
and, from whatever cause, there had been a diminution of the 
Democratic majority in the House. President Cleveland deliv- 
ered a message which was much more vigorous and pointed 
than his former one. In it he urged upon his party the neces- 
sity for taking a decided step in favor of tariff revision, and a 
reduction of the surplus. He was as emphatic as before in his 
objections to compulsory coinage, and the longer continuance 
of internal taxes. He had been harshly criticised by his op[)o- 
nents for numerous vetoes of bills conferring pensions in excep- 
tional cases. These vetoes he ably defended, because the class 
of legislation against which they were aimed was one which was 
dangerous in prmciple and calculated to open the doors to ex- 
travagance and corruption. The message evinced a determina- 
tion on the President's part to secure, in so far as he coultl, a 
greater amount of legislation than the first session of the Forty- 
ninth Congress had given to the country. He was now well 
grounded in popular regard, had a full understanding of national 
and party wants, and felt that he could afford to make his advice 
emphatic. The result was that at this short session tlie Con- 
gress did an immense amount of work, and settled many press- 
ing questions. The Anti-Polygamy act was passed, one redeem- 
ing Trade Dollars; regulating the Electoral Count, and repealing 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 47 

the Tenure of Office law. But for the flict that the Democrats 
in the House were divided on the questions of tariff revision, 
internal taxation, and reduction of the surplus in the treasury, 
all the important measures urged in his message would have 
been enacted into laws, and their beneficial results given to the 
country. 

■ Thus ended the first two years of President Cleveland's ad- 
ministration. He had been singularly successful in reconciling 
the countr\^ to the political change which came about with the 
advent of his party to power. Antagonisms had been avoided 
by a wise use of his functions. He had made no foolish haste, 
had done everything conscientiously and for the best, had met 
on every hand the expectations of those who contributed to his 
electijDn. Better than all ke had not lost the best wishes of his 
political opponents to see him successful in his administration 
of national affairs. At times it was felt on all sides that he was 
bigger, braver, and more advariced than his party, and that this 
would, in the end, prove a greater source of danger to his suc- 
cess than attacks from without. But he iiad the sagacity to 
ward off all harm in this direction by choosing his grount] well, 
taking bold and firm stands without appearing to be arbitrary or 
dictatorial, and then patiently waiting for the sober, second 
thought of his follou'crs. He thus grew upon them, as it were, and 
without an)^ spirit of assumption or attempt at cross-purposes, 
came to be recognized as one abundantly worthy of entire 
confidence and admirably equipped for safe and victorious lead- 
ership. 

As party lines began to shape up for the contest of 1888, 
President Cleveland's administration naturally passed under 
closer scrutiu}' by his political opponents. He could hardly e.K- 
pcct to escape that small, invidious criticism which every trilling 
official error and every slight departure from the usual course of 
things are too apt to provoke in this country, and which is none 
to the credit of our newsmongers and partisan writers. Thus 
his veto of what was known as the Dependent PensicMi l^ill, 
though based on grounds whicii every impartial man will, ;dmost 
at a glance, regard as tenable, was heralded as evidence of his 

0*0 ' 



48 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

opposition to the soldier element. This was both unfair and un- 
just, and it did not take long for the better second thought of 
the country to come to the President's vindication. There was 
another outburst of the same sentiment when the order to " re- 
turn the rebel flags " was issued. But when it appeared that the 
order was really that of a subordinate, and that it was counter- 
manded b}' the President as soon as its true nature became 
known, full credit was given to him for rectitude of intention. 

But with all these annoyances, there was a broader and fairer 
field of criticism to encounter. This he did not fear; this, in- 
deed, he would invite, in so far as a perfectl)' straight and fear- 
less course proved an invitation. Aggressiveness w^is never a 
part of President Cleveland's organization, yet he was not a man 
to stand still. He saw the political situation of 1 884 as j:^lainly 
as any man could. The things which contributed to his own 
and Democratic success in that year — the mistrust of the party 
in power, the personal antagonism to its candidate, the general 
desire for political change — could not contribute to the same end 
again. Party success a second time must depend on a record 
made, on something done, on confidence inspired, on a grand 
affirmative position to be stoutK' maintained. Plow could this 
standpoint be reached? Clearly not by the reposeful, negati\'e 
methods which were so well adapted to the first two years of his 
administration. There must be a change, more action, for, as 
the legend on the ruins of Dcndera hath it, " action is life." It 
was to this end that he almost scolded the second session of the 
Forty-ninth Congress for its inertness during the first and long 
session — the session of opportunity. He would not scold, or 
urge, or plead again, but, as was justly his place, he would pre- 
sent a clear issue, would father a central thought, would ask his 
party and the nation to take something definite in hand for its 
own good. 

In writing the life of President Cleveland it is not necessary to 
go into an analysis of parties. It is sufficiently understood that 
the doctrine of Protection is fostered by the Republican party 
through and by means of the tariff laws, and that such doctrine 
has become cardinal with the party. It is just as well under- 



STEniEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 49 

stood tliat the Democratic part}- has never accepted this doctrine 
in its entirety, but has acquiesced in it as a means of raising 
revenue when necessary, and has always claimed that, the neces- 
sity past, the tariff laws should be revised and tariff rates reduced, 
the same as with an)' othtr tax laws. In the opinion of many 
Democratic leaders of thought, which opinion Mr. Cleveland 
shared, the excess of income over expenditures, and the accu- 
mulation of ;m unnecessary surplus of public money in the na- 
tional treasur}', afforded an excellent argument and made the time 
propitious for declaring a policy which looked toward both tariff 
and internal tax reduction, and which should at the same time 
answer for a more definite declaration of party principles than 
had been the custom in National Conventions and platforms. 
While.the desire to do this had long existed on the part of many 
prominent Democrats, no one seemed bold enough, or felt him- 
self sufficiently strong as a leader, to take such an initiative as 
would impress the people. There was a small but resolute fac- 
tion within the party which antagonized any such step and re- 
mained as firmly attached to the Protection school of thought as 
Republicans tlicmselves. They were chiefly responsible for the 
failure of tariff legislation in the Forty-ninth Congress, and were 
still more hostile in the Fiftieth Congress. Mr. Cleveland had, 
of course, full)' tliscountcd their strength before he concluded on 
his step forward. He felt also, no doubt, that he, of all men, 
was the one to place himself in the van of what bade fair to be 
the most important political movement since the civil war, for he 
was not onl)' the most conspicuous man in the countr)', but the 
one b;st calculated, by reason of his sturdy character and wcll- 
establisJK'd official record, to inspire confidence. 

This was ihr logic of that situation which President Cleveland 
presented to the country when, on December 5, 1887, he de- 
livered to Congress that brief message of only 4,500 words, 
which touched upon onl}^ that branch of finance involved in taxa- 
tion, customs duties and the treasury surplus, which awakened 
his part)' as if from a long dream and which electrified the 
nation. It was an indication of a departure from the hesitating 
and shuffling methods which had so long prevailed and was 
4 



50 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

equivalent to a new declaration of principles for modern De- 
mocracy, or rather to a broad and emphatic announcement of 
those principles which had made statesmen of the Democratic 
fathers and given them repeated victories. The message was 
hailed by his party as a step in the right direction, and the Presi- 
dent was made the recipient of congratulations which showed he 
had struck an immensely popular chord. So earnest was he in 
his presentation of the financial situation, and so candid and 
fearless in his statements respecting high and unnecessary taxa- 
tion, with its dangerous concomitant of an overflowing treasury, 
that not even his enemies failed to applaud his utterances as the 
very essence of frankness and his step as Napoleonic in concep- 
tion and importance. The Democratic majority in the House 
promptly responded to the President's advice and presented a bill 
'vhich looked toward the reforms indicated in the message, and 
they made strenuous efforts to pass it over the Republican 
strength aided by a factious Democratic minority. 

This heroic step on the part of President Cleveland con- 
tributed greatly to his reputation as a broad-minded thinker, 
and a statesman capable of seeing in advance of his time and 
preparing for victories on a basis which should admit of no 
misconstruction. But there was one thing about it which he 
may not have fully considered, or if so, then it should be care- 
fully weighed by every candid mind, in order that misapprehen- 
sion may not arise respecting the future which it opened to Mr. 
Cleveland, and also in order that the criticism which his nomi- 
nation for a second term called forth from his political enemies 
may be met at once. The new policy of the administration 
placed Mr. Cleveland so clearly in the van of his party, that it 
would have been cowardly, if not suicidal, for him to have 
shrunk from the responsibility imposed, no matter what form 
that responsibility assumed. Thus, without intent or volition on 
his part, but by sheer force of political circumstances, he found 
his leadership of that pronounced and momentous kind, which 
impelled him directly and inevitably toward a renomination by 
his party. There can be no doubt in the world of his sincerity, 
when, in his letter of acceptance in 1884, he made known his 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 51 

conviction that a President shoultl not be an aspirant for a sec- 
ond term. His reasoning was that such ambition might lead to 
misuse of the power and patronage at his disposal. The reason- 
ing was just as potential in 1886, or 1888, and there is no need 
for supposing that his convictions underwent change at any- 
time. The fact that an emergency might arise, or that a 
changed set of conditions might come, which could not be fore- 
seen, but whicli might warrant a second terin for a President, 
was not one which he combated in his letter, nor did his reason- 
ing apply to it. He was as much at liberty to stand for a second 
term, after his letter as before it, unless it became apparent that 
he was an ambitious seeker after the place, and was using the 
power and patronage in his hands to secure it. Nothing like 
this appeared. In shaping an administrative policy which would 
enure to the good and glory of his party and the country, he 
acted like a brave, broad-gauge statesman, and as President, or 
if you please, party leader, he was willing to face every storm 
and shoulder every responsibility. When events, political and 
otherwise, shaped up so as to show forth the campaign of 1888, 
and his position became such as to make battle doubtful without 
the magic of his name, the wisdom of his counsel, and the force 
of his presence, there arose spontaneously a situation which 
rendered his candidacy imperative. Instead of using effort in a 
personal direction, and resorting to means unworthy of a high 
official to bring about a desirable result, the course of events, the 
trend of sentiment, the uprising of feeling, were such as to carry 
him along, without the asking, toward a second candidature. 
Always before in our political history such spontaneous results 
have been regarded as most fortunate for public men, and as 
evidence of a popular favor and confidence which speak worlds 
for their character and ability as officials and statesmen. And 
so it really was in Mr. Cleveland's case. 

During the first session of the Fiftieth Congress, Mr. Cleve- 
land reorganized his Cabinet by promoting his Secretar}' of In- 
terior, L. Q. C. Lamar, to the place in the Supreme Court, made 
vacant by the death of Chief-Justice Waite, by transferring his 
Postmaster-General, Wm. F. Vilas, to the Interior Department,^ 



52 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

by promoting Charles S. Fairchild to the Secretaryship of the 
Treasury, and by appointing Don M. Dickinson, of Michigan, 
Postmaster-General. These appointments were all acceptable to 
the Senate, and they were confirmed. 

President Cleveland had on hand from the beginning of his 
administration the delicate question of the American Fisheries, 
The treaty of i8i8, between this country and England, has never 
been satisfactory, and the English made several seizures of 
American fishing vessels in Canadian v.'aters, contrary to our 
construction of the treaty. The administration took the matter 
in iiand, and under the auspices of a comtnission composed of 
representatives from all the countries concerned, a new treaty 
was framed and presented to the Senate for confirmation. This 
action was deemed the wisest on the part of the administration, 
as it was least likely to provoke hard feeling, and most likely to 
get at the root of the troubles. It gave a happy relief to his 
premier, and placed the future responsibility on the Senate. 

Presitlcnt Cleveland made reform in the Public Land System 
a conspicuous feature of his administration, and it is safe to say 
that in this respect he has been the means of correcting one of 
the most vicious systems in the whole domain of government, 
and at the same time of saving millions to the Treasury. In the 
execution of laws he is energetic and persistent, and, it may be, 
imbued with a good deal of that philosophy which prompted 
President Grant to say that " the best way to secure the repeal 
of an obnoxious law was to enforce it to the letter." 

The brief review of President Cleveland's administration pre- 
sented to the St. Louis Convention by General Collins is apropos 
the story of his life. 

"The day on which Grover Cleveland, the plain, straightfor- 
ward, typical American citizen chosen at the election, took the 
oath of office in the presence of the multitude, a day so lo\'ely 
and so perfect that all nature seemed exuberantly to sanction 
and to celebrate the victory, that day marked the close of the old 
era and the beginning of a new' one. It closed the era of usur- 
pation of power by the P\^deral authority, of illegal force, of 
general contempt for constitutional limitations and plain law, of 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 53 

glaring scandals, profligate waste, and unspeakable corruption, 
of narrow sectionalism and class strife, of the reign of a party 
whose good work had long been done. It began the era of per- 
fect peace and perfect union of the States, fused in all tluir 
sovereignty into a Federal Republic, with liuiitetl but anipie 
powers; of a public service conducted with absolute integrity' 
and strict economy; of reforms pushed to their extreme limit; 
of comprehensive, sound and safe financial policy; giving se- 
curity and confidence to all enterprise and endeavor — a Demo- 
cratic administration, faithful to its mighty trust, loyal to its 
pledges ; true to the constitution, safeguarding the interests and 
liberties of the people. And now we stand on the edge of 
another era, })erhaps a greater contest; with a relation to the 
electors that we ha\'e not held for a generation, that of responsi- 
bility for the great trust of government. We are no longer 
authors, but accountants; no longer critics, but the criticised. 
The responsibility is ours, and if we have not taken all the power 
necessar)- to make that responsibility good the t'ault is ours, not 
that of the people. 

"The administration of President Cleveland has triumphantly 
justified his election. It compels the respect, confidence and ap- 
proval of the country. The prophets of evil and disaster are 
dumb. What the people see is the government of the Union 
restored to its ancient footing of justice, peace, honesty and im- 
partial enforcement of the law. They sec the demands of labor 
and agriculture met, so far as government can meet them, by the 
legislative enactments for their encouragement and protection. 
They see the veterans of the civil war granted pensions long due 
them to the amount of more than twice in number and nearly 
three times in value of those granted under an}-- previous ad- 
ministration. They see more than 32,000,000 acres of land 
recklessly and illegally held by the grantees of the corrupt Re- 
publican regime restored to the public domain for the benefit of 
honest settlers. They see the negro, whose fears of Democratic 
rule were played upon by demagogues four years ago, not only 
more fully protected than by his pretended friends, but honored 
as his race was never honored before. They see a financial 



54 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

policy under which reckless speculation has practically ceased 
and capital freed from distrust. Tiiey see for the first time an 
honest observance of the law governing the civil establishment, 
and the emploj'es of the people rid, at least, of the political 
highwayman with a demand for tribute in one hand and a letter 
of dismissal in the other. They see useless offices abolished and 
expenses of administration reduced, while improved methods 
have lifted the public service to high efficiency. They see tran- 
quility, order, security and equal justice restored in the land, a 
watchful, safe, steady and patriotic administration — the solemn 
promises made by Democracy faithfully kept. It is 'an honest 
government by honest men.' 

" Four years ago you trusted tentativel}' the Democratic party 
and supported with zeal and vigor its candidate for President. 
You thought him strong in all the sturdy qualities requisite for 
the great task of reform. No President in time of peace had so 
difficult and laborious a duty to perform. His party had been 
out of power for twenty-four years. Ex-ery member of it had 
been almost venomously excluded from the smallest post where 
administration could be studied. Every place was filled by men 
whose interest it was to thwart inquiry and belittle the new ad- 
ministration, but the master hand came to the helm, and the true 
course has been kept from the beginning. 

" We need not wait for time to do justice to the character and 
services of President Cleveland. Honest, clear-sighted, patient, 
grounded in respect for law and justice ; with a thorough grasp 
of principles and situations ; with marvellous and conscientious 
industry ; the very incarnation of firmness — he has nobly ful- 
filled the promise of his party, nobly met the expectations of his 
country and written his name high on the scroll where future 
Americans will read the names of men who have been supremely 
useful to the Republic." 

APPEARANCE AND HABITS.— Tvtsidcnt Cleveland pos- 
sesses a strong physique, but has so industrially devoted his 
time and energies to the duties of his oflice as to render care for 
] is health necessary. Gentle in strength, unobtrusive in his 
modesty and unswcrvcd by partisan clamor, he endeavors to do 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 55 

what he, from his personal and political standpoint, regards as 
right. He is above medium height, quite stout and rather slow 
in movement. His type is Teutonic, blonde, with ruddy color. 
His head is large, with a broad forehead, deeply set blue eyes, 
a large, straight nose, with \igorous nostrils, and a firm mouth, 
parti}' shaded b)- a drooping light moustache. He generally 
wears a frock coat, buttoned up so high that only an inch or so 
of his shirt bosom is visible, with a sliizht black cravat encircline 
a standing collar. In conversation with strangers he generally 
stands with his 'hands clasped behind him and when he thinks 
he has heard enough he brings his hands forward. He rises 
early, shaves and dresses himself and reads the newspapers until 
breakfast. He then goes to his library on the second floor of 
the White House and seats himself at the President's desk, 
which is made of oak from the ship " Resolute," an English 
vessel sent to the Arctic regions in search of Sir John Franklin, 
abandoned in the ice and afterwards rescued by American 
whalers. The desk was a present from Queen Victoria. On it 
are arranged the President's correspondence in such a shape as 
that he loses no time in going through it. At ten a. m. visitors 
begin to arrive, Senators and Representatives claiming prece- 
dence. At one o'clock the President goes down-stairs to lunch 
and on his way walks through the East room to see and be seen 
by the promiscuous visitors to the White House. Those who 
have " axes to grind " are referred to the various heads of de- 
partments, while the bridal couples and curiosity seekers are put 
off with a hand-shake and a complimentary word. Two days 
in the week, when the Cabinet meets, these receptions are 
omitted. After luncheon the President returns to his desk and 
works steadil}' till five o'clock. None of his predecessors ha\'e 
ever weighed the qualifications and claims of candidates for 
Federal a{)pointments with such painstaking care as Mr. Cle\-e- 
land. He has carefully read the recommendations in every case 
and, after such investigation as it has been possible for him to 
make into the character and antecedents of the rival applicants, 
he has made his appointments. 

At five o'clock the President takes a drive. At seven he 



56 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

dines, and by eight he is back at work, often remaining at his 
desk till midnight. When asked if he ever carried his work to 
bed with him, as many nervous men do, he replied : " No ! I 
generally fall asleep without any difficulty, and never wake until 
nTorningr." The domestic arrangements of the White Plouse 
were presided over by the President's sister, Miss Rose Eliza- 
beth Cleveland, until the date of his marriage. 

HIS MARRIAGE.— VvQs'xdQnt Cleveland was married at the 
White House at seven p. m. on June 2, 1886, to Miss Frances 
Folsom, daughter of his former law partner. Though this was 
the eighth marriage within the walls of the White House, it was 
the first in which a President of the United States participated as 
a bridegroom. It was a plain ceremony, after the Presbyterian 
form, with the Marine Band to play the wedding march and 
the President's salute from the guns of the Navy Yard to notify 
the world that the vows had been finally sealed. This marriage 
introduced into the executive mansion and to public life one of 
the most charming ladies of the land. She has borne all her 
blushing honors meekly and contributed greatly to the socia- 
bility, vivacity and elegance of the Wl,jite House establishment. 

RENOMINATED.— As iht time approached for the meeting 
of the St. Louis Convention, and the eyes of the Democratic 
party began to turn toward the spot whence should emanate a 
standard-bearer for the campaign of 1888, there seemed to be 
but one answer to the question, " Who shall the man be ? " 

And when Convention day dawned, and the great Democratic 
party sat in National Council, at St. Louis, on June 5, 1888, 
when an outlook of the situation was had after a compari- 
son of political views, when grave men had deliberated and 
arrived at the mature judgment as to what was best for party 
success and the tr'umph of immutable principles, there was more 
than ever one voice in favor of the renomination of President 
Cleveland. All private likes and dislikes were merged in the 
common thought that he was the man best calculated by ex- 
perience, by towering ability as leader, by impregnable record, 
to bear the party standard through the campaign battles of 1888. 
No other name wa.^ mentioned in Convention, in connection 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 57 

with the Pi'csidcnc}', and when his was mentioned it always 
awakened an entluisiasni which found \cnt in vociferous and 
prolonged cheers. 

For President Cleveland, the St. Louis Convention was both 
endorsement and ovation. It ratified nearl)' four years of admin- 
istrative work, and pledged a continuance of confidence and 
support. That public career which, in 1884, had been limited 
by State lines, was, at St. Louis, bounded by the horizon of 
every civilized country. In 1884 he was pledged to his country 
b)- his party for what he gave promise as President to be. In 
1888 no such formal pledge was needed, for as one of the 
orators in the Convention put it, "He had not only won the ap- 
plause of his countrymen, but the plaudit of the civilized world 
of ' Well done, thou good and faithful servant.' " 

When State after State had risen in that grandly representa- 
tive Convention to shower on the President its eulogies and 
pledge him anew its support, the climax was reached at the call 
of Kentucky, whose spokesman, McKenzie, closed his eloquent 
tribute to Mr. Cleveland's greatness by saying: 

'■ Air. Chairman and Gentlemen : I move to suspend the rules 
and make the nomination of Grover Cleveland for President of 
the United States absolutely unanimous." 

This was the last step of that superb movement which ci'owned 
President Cleveland with the honors of a second nomination. 
There was no ballot, no contest, no dissent. The Convention 
rose as a unit, and as a personation of a sentiment which was all 
pervading, and with a voice Vv hich made the immense spaces of 
Musical llall ring, acclaimed him the candidate of the Demo- 
cratic party for 1 888. It was a tribute such as is seldom paid to 
mortal man. That spontaneous accord, that emphatic pronoimce- 
ment, contained something higher than the lienors of office, 
something fuller of meaning tlian a crown. It measured not 
only the estimation in which the man was held, but it showed 
the heartfelt gratitude of a party whose destiny he had held 
sacredly in his keeping through its first period of triumph in 
tw^enty-four years. It was a ratification of the past, and a tender 
for the future, not of a man in the shape of a promise, as in 1884, 
but as a happy and splendid realization. 




NATIONAL 

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 

ST. LOUIS, 1888. 



I HE National Democratic Committee met, at the call of 



the chairman, in Washington, D. C, on February 22, 
1888, with a full attendance. On that date it was de- 

^^■5 cided to hold the National Convention on Jul}' 3, but in 

the proceedings of February 23 the date was changed 

to June 5, 1888, and St. Louis was selected as the place — Chicago, 

New York, Cincinnati and San Francisco being other claimants 

for the honor. 

On Tuesday, June 5, in pursuance of the above decision and 
in obedience to the call to the Chairman of the National Com- 
mittee, the Convention met at St. Louis Music Hall, and was 
called to order at 12.25 P- ^^- by Ex-Senator Barnum, of Con- 
necticut, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. It 
was a large, enthusiastic and thoroughly representative asseni- 
blage, embracing not only the regular delegates, but an audience 
of 12,000 people, which subdued its cheers with difficulty as 
Bishop J. C. Cranberry, of St. Louis, extended his hands and 
began the opening prayer. 

Hon. Stephen M. White, of California, was elected temporary 
chairman, an honor he accepted in an eloquent address. After 
a roll-call of delegates and appointment of the various working 
committees, the Convention adjourned till 10 A. M. of the 6th. 

On that date a permanent organization was effected by select- 
ing Hon. Patrick A. Collins, of Massachusetts, chairman, who 
also accepted the honor by a thrilling speech. Pending the re- 
ports of committees, especially that of the Committee on Resolu- 
tions and Platform, which was anxiously looked for, a motion 
was made that the speeches placing candidates in nomination for 



'H 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 59 

The Presidency be heard, but that no further action be taken. 
This gave Hon. Daniel Dougherty, the "silver-tongued orator," 
former])' of Philadelphia, but now of New York, opportunity to 
make the speech placing President Grover Cleveland in nomina- 
tion. He arose amid such an ovation as is .seldom witnessed in 
a deliberative body, and spoke as follows to an audience of over 
1 2,000 people : 

I greet you, my countrymen, with fraternal regard ; in your presence I Ijow to 
the majesty of the people. The sight itself is inspiring, the thought sublime. Vou 
come from every State and Territory, from every nook and corner of our ocean- 
bound and continent-covering country. You are about to discharge a^ more than 
imperial duty, with simplest ceremonials. You, as representatives of the people, 
are to choose a magistrate with power mightier than a monarch, yet checked and 
controlled by the supreme law of a written constitution. Tluis..impres-;ed, I ascend 
tiie rostrum to name tlie ne.\t I'resident of the Ur.ited Slates. New York presents 
him to the Convention and pledges her electoral voles. Delegations from the 
tliirty-eight States and all the Territories are assembled without a caucus or consul- 
tation, ready simultaneously to take up tlie cry and make the vole unanimous. We 
are here not indeed to choose a candidate, but to name the one the people have 
alreaily clioscn. Ileistlieman for the people; his career illustrates the glory of 
our instituti'ins. Eight years ago unknown save in his own locality; he for the 
last four years has stood in the gaze of the world discharging the most exalted 
duties that can be confided to mortal. To-day determines that not of his own 
choice, Iiul by the mandate of his countrymen and with tlie sanction of heaven he 
sliall fill the Presidency for four years more. He has met and mastered every ques- 
tion as if from youth trained to statesmanship. The promises of his letter of ac- 
ceptance and inaugural address have been fulfilled. 

His fidelity in the past insj^ires faith in the future. He is not a hope. He is a 
realization. Scormng subterfuge, disdaining reelection by concealing convictions, 
mindful of his oath of office to defend tlie constitution, he courageously declares to 
Congress, dropping minor matters, that the supreme issue is reform, revision, reduc- 
tion of national ta.xation ; that the treasury of the United States, glutted with un- 
needed gold, oppresses industry, embarrasses business, endangers financial tran(|uil- 
lity and l)reeds extravagance, centralization and corruption ; that high taxation, vital 
for the expenditures of an unparalleled war, is rol)bery in years of [jrosjicrous 
peace; that the millions that pour into the treasury come from tlie hard-earned sav- 
ings of the American jieople; that in violation of equality of rights the present 
tariff has created a privileged class who, shaping legislation for their personal gain, 
levy by law contributions for tlie necessaries of life from every man, woman and 
child in the land ; that to lower the tariff is not free trade. It is to reduce the un- 
just profits of monopolists and boss manufacturers, and allow consumers to retain 
the rest. The man wl'O asserts that to lower tlie tariff means free trade insults in- 
telligence. We brand him as a falsifier. It is fiuthest frum thought to imperil 



go STEPHEN GROVER CLE\ ELAND. 

capital or disturb enterprises. The aim is to uphold wages and protect the rights 
of all. 

This administration has rescued the public domain from would-be barons and 
cormorant cor[)orations faithless to obligations, and reserved it for free homes for 
this and coming generations. There is no pilfering, and there are no jobs under 
this administration. Public office is a public trust. Integrity stands guard at every 
post of our vast empire. 

While the President has been the medium through wiiich has flowed the undying 
gratitude of the Republic for her soldiers, he has not hesitated to withhold approval 
from special legislation if strictest inquiry revealed a want of truth and justice. 
Above all, sectional strife as never before is at an end and 60,000,000 of freemen 
in the ties of brotherhood are prosperous and happy. 

These are the achievements of this administration. Under the same illustrious 
leader we are ready to meet our political opponents in high and honorable debate 
and .stake our triumph on the intelligence, virtue and patriotism of the people. Ad- 
hering to the constitution, its every line and letter, ever remembering that " powers 
not delegated to the United States by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the 
States are reserved to the States respectively or to the people." Ily the authority 
of the Democracy of New York, backed by the Democracy of the entire Union, 
I give you a name entwined with victory. 1 nominate Grover Cleveland, of New 
York. 

CARRIED BY STORM.— Vlu Dougherty's speech was de- 
livered with fine effect, in his best i;t\-le, and aroused unbounded 
enthusiasm. When he mentioned the name of Grover Cleve- 
land, or referred to his pubhc acts or utterances, the Convention 
fairly shouted itself hoarse. The delegates mounted the chairs, 
waved their hats, their canes and handkerchiefs. The 12,000 
spectators joined in the applause, and tlie band in the east gal- 
lery helped along with horns and drtuns, but their blare and 
noise could scarcely be heard above the general din. As Mr. 
Dougherty finished his impassioned speech some one in the west 
gallcr\' tore aside a curtain which had hid a portrait of Cleveland, 
upon the face of the great picture of the Capitol building, revealing 
to the gaze of the Convention the well-known features of the Presi- 
dent. This incident aroused the enthusiasm of the Convention 
to a fever heat. The hall was at once filled with cheer on cheer, 
and the great body of people in the auditorium, balcony and 
galleries arose and stood shouting until the din became almost 
deafening. Hats were thrown in the air, red bandannas waved 
from a thousand hands and white, black and gray hats were" 
frantically thrust upon the points of canes and waved until the 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 01 

owners became exhausted. Some one on the stage crowned the 
bust of the President, on the left of the chairman, with a hiurcl 
wreath, which was the signal for even a wilder burst of shouts 
and cheers than before. Although the full band of sixty pieces 
was in full blast all this time, not a sound from its trumpets 
could be heard. The climax of this great scene was reached 
when the banners of all the States were borne by the delegates 
to the New York standard and draped about it. At this the 
enthusiasm was unbounded. Spectators and delegates tore the 
red, white and blue bunting from the pillars and from the face 
of the balconies and waved these improvised banners all over 
the hall for ten minutes. This remarkable outburst did not 
cease until everybody was absolutely exhausted. It was ex- 
actly twenty-four minutes before the chair was able to regain 
control of the Convention. 

When the applause had subsided and the Convention was 
again under control, the States were called u[)on to second the 
nomination or make new ones. One by one they responded 
through their best orators, and all seconded in eloquent terms 
the nomination already made. It being thus apparent that 
President Cleveland was the unanimous choice of the Conven- 
tion, Mr. McKenzie, Ky., moved to suspend the rules and to nom- 
inate Grover Cleveland for President by acclamation. The chair 
• put the question, and there was returned from the Convention a 
thundering chorus of yeas. The chair therefore announced that 
Grox'er Cleveland, having received an unanimous vote, was the 
candidate of'the Democratic part)' for the office of President of 
the United States. When the nomination of Cleveland was an- 
nounced another scene of wild enthusiasm occurred in the Con- 
vention, but the delegates and spectators were too nearly ex- 
hausted to sustain so prolonged a scene as that which followed 
Mr. Dougherty's speech. 

There being as yet no report from the Committee on Resolu- 
tions, and the delegates being tired out h\' incessant cheering, 
the Convention adjourned at 1.58 p. m. till 10 o'clock of the 7th. 

A VICE-PRESIDENT. — There were three prominent candi- 
dates for the Vice-Presidential nomination — Ex-Senator Allen 



62 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND, 

G. Th'irman, Ohio ; Pension Commissioner John C. Black, Il- 
linois, and Isaac P. Gray, Indiana. At the opening of the Con- 
vention on the zth, it was evident that the current was running 
irresistibly in favor of the " Old Roman," as Thurman is called. 
It therefore took only the brilliant nominating speech of Mr. 
Tarpey, of California, to throw the Convention into the wildest 
state of excitement over Mr. Thurman's name. His nomination 
was seconded by numerous delegates, and it would have re- 
quired but little more effort to nominate him without the formal- 
ity of a ballot. But Mr. Gray had been put in nomination by 
an able speech from Senator Voorhees, and there were many 
friends of Mr. Black who refused to hearken to his letter of 
declination. A ballot was therefore taken. Gray held the 30 
votes of Indiana solid, as did Black the 6 votes of Colorado. 
A few other States divided their votes, but the result showed 685 
votes for Thurman, 104 for Gray and 31 for Black. The nom~ 
ination was made unanimous amid an applause which had not 
been surpassed for prolonged vigor in the entire history of the 
Convention. Everybody produced a red bandanna and every 
guidon in the hall was decorated with one. 

THE PLATFORM. — The work of framing a national plat- 
form of principles had been entrusted to the ablest men in the 
party, such as Mr. Watterson, Kentucky; Congressman Scott, 
Pennsylvania, and Senator Gorman, Maryland, and it was re- 
ported and endorsed by the Convention on the 7th, the last day 
it was in session. The full text is as follows : 

PLEDGES. — The Democratic party of the United States in National Conven- 
tion assembled renews the pledge of its fidelity to Deniocmtic faith .-ind reaffirms 
the platform adopted hy its representatives in tlic Conventinn of 1S84, and en- 
dorses the views expressed hy President Clevehmd in lii.s last annual message to 
Congress as the correct interpretation of that ijlatlorm upon tlie cpiestion of tariff 
reduction ; and also enchirses the efforts of our Democratic representatives in Con- 
gress to secure a reduction of excessive taxation. 

FAITH. — Chief among its principles of party faith are the maintenance of an 
indissolul>le Union of free und indestructiliie States, now about to enter upon its 
second century of unexampled progress and renown ; devotion to a plan of gov- 
ernment regulated by a written constitution, strictlv s[H'cifying every granted power 
and expressly reserving to the States or peojile the entire ungranted residue of 
power ; the encouragement of a jealous popular vigilance, directed to all who have 



STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. CA 

been chosen for brief terms to enact antl execute the laws, and are chnrged with tlie 
duty of preserving peace, ensuring ecjuality and establishing justice. 

PUBLIC PROSPERITY. — The Democratic party welcome an exacting scru- 
tiny of the administration of the executive power, which four yeais ago was com- 
mitte,d to its trust in the election of Grover Cleveland President of the United 
States, and it challenges the most searching inquiry concerning its fidelity and devo- 
tion to the pledges which then invited the sufirages of the people. During a most 
critical period of our fniancial affairs, resulting from over-taxation, the anomalous 
condition of our currency and a public debt unmatured, it has, by the adoption of 
its policy, not only avoided a disaster, but greatly promoted the prosperity of the 
people. 

PUBLIC LANDS. — It has reversed the imjirovident and unwise policy of the 
Republican party touching the public domain, and has reclaimed from corporations 
and syndicates, alien and domestic, ami restored to the people nearly one hundred 
million acres of valuable laml, to be sacredly held as homesteads for our citizens. 

PENSIONS. — While carefully guanling the interest of the tax-payers and con- 
forming strictly to the principles of justice and equity, it has paid out more for 
pensions and bounties to the soliliers and sailors of the republic than was ever paid 
before during an equal period. 

REFORMS. — By intelligent management and a juiiicious and economical ex- 
penditure of the public money it has set on foot the recon.structinn of the American 
navy upon a system which forbids the recurrence of scandal and insures successful 
results. It has adopted ami consistently pursued a firm and prudent foreign policy, 
preserving pence with all nations while scrupulously maintaining all the rights and 
interests of our own government and ])eople at home and abroad. The exclusion 
from our shores of Chinese laborers has been effectually secured under the provi- 
sions of a treaty, the operation of which has been postponed by the action of a Re- 
publican majority in the Senate. Honest reform in the civil service has been in- 
augurated and maintained by President Cleveland, and he has brought the public 
service to the highest standard of efficiency not only by rule and precept, but by 
the example of his own untiring and unselfish administration of public affairs. 

EQUALITY. — In every department and branch of the government under Demo- 
cratic control the rights and the welfare of all the j)eople have been guarded and de- 
fended ; every public interest has been jirotecled, and the equality of all our citizens 
before the law, without regard to race or color, has been steadfastly maintained. Upon 
its record thus exhibited and upon the pledge of a continuance to the people of the 
benefits of good government, tiie national Democracy invokes a renewal of popular 
trust i)y the re-election of a chief magistrate who has been faithful, able and inu- 
dent. They invoke, in addition to tiiat trust, the transfer also to the Democracy of 
the entire legislative power. 

CAPITAL. — The Republican party, controlling the Senate and resisting in both 
Houses of Congress a reformation of unjust and unequal tax laws which have out- 
lasted the necessities of war and are now undermining the abundance of a long 
peace, deny to the people equality before the law and the fairness and justice which 
are their right. Thus the cry of American labor for a better share in the rewards 
of industry is stilled with false pretences; enterprise is fettered and bound down 



g4 STEPHEN GROVER CLEVELAND. 

to home markets; capital is discouraged with doubt, and unequal, unjust laws can 
neither be properly amended nor repealed. 

y^A'/Zr/OiV.— The Democratic party w HI continue, with all the power con- 
fided to it, the struggle to reform these laws, in accordance with the pledges of its 
List platform, endorsed at the ballot-box by the suffrages of the people. Of all the 
in.lu^trious freen.en of our land, the immense majority, including every tiller of the 
soil, gain no a.ivantage fiom excessive tax laws, but the price of nearly everythnig 
tliey "my is increased by the favoritism of an unequal system of tax legislation. 
AH unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation. It is repugnant to the creed of De- 
mocracy that by such taxation the cost of the necessaries of life should be unjustifi- 
ably increased to all our people. 

yA" 63' 75.— Judged by Democratic principles, the interests of the people are be- 
trayed when, by unnecessary taxation, trusts and combinations are permitted to ex- 
ist,' which, while unduly enriching the few tliat combine, rob the body of our citizens 
liy'depriving them of the benefits of natural competition. Every Democratic rule 
,.'f governmental action is violated when, through unnecessary taxation, a vast sum 
<.f money, far beyond the needs of an economical administration, is drawn from 
ll;e people and the channels of trade and accumulated as a demoralizing surplus in 
ihe national treasury. 

SURPLUS AND ZV^i^///".— The money now lying in the Federal treasuiy, 
resulting from superfluous taxation, amounts to more than one hundred and twenty- 
lue millions, and the surplus collected is reaching the sum of more than sixty mil- 
h-.ns annually. Debauched by this immense temptation, the remedy of the Repub- 
lican i^arty is to meet and exhaust, by extravagant appropriations and expenses,. 
\vhether constitutional or not, the accumulation of extravagant taxation. The 
hcmocraiic policy is to cidoice frugality in public expenditure and abolish unneces- 
s.iiy taxation. Our establishe.l d<uiicsiic iiuUislrics and enterprises should not and 
i.eed not be endangered by the reduction and correction of the burdens of taxation. 
( )n the contrary, al^air and careful revi^ion of our tax laws, with due allowance for 
the difference between the wages of American and foreign labor, must promote and 
encourage every branch of such in.lu.stries and enterprises, by giving them assur- 
ance of an extended market and steady and continuous operations. In the interests 
of American labor, which should in no event be neglected, the revision of our tax 
laws, contemplated by the Democratic party, should promote the advantage of such 
labor, by cheaponing'tbe cost of necessaries of life in the home of every working- 
man and at the same time securing to him steady and remunerative employment. 
Upon this question of tariff reform, so closely concerning every phase of our na- 
tional life, and upon every question involved in the problem of good government, 
the Democratic party submits its principles and professions to the intelligent suf- 
frages of the American people. 




ALLEN G. THrRMAN*. 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICE 

OF 

ALLEN G. THURMAN. 



I^ON. ALLEN G. THURMAN, who rose to distinction 
^ifl ill Ohio, and whose record is one of the brigrhtest and 
" C^l pi^"'est in the annals of the Buckeye State, was born at 
L)-nchburg, Va., November 13, 1813. He sprang from 
one of the good, old-fashioned Enghsh famihes who 
pioneered civih'zation up the valley of the James River, and con- 
tributed to the fame of the commonwealth founded by Captain 
John Smith, at Jamestown. 

His ancestry came early to the shores of Virginia, and became 
conspicuous for their zeal in the cause of American freedom. 
Both his paternal and maternal grandfather fought in the war 
of the Revolution, the latter having served under General Daniel 
Logan. The family belonged to the planting community, and 
ranked as high-classed, prosperous farmers for several genera- 
tions. 

The good fortune which had attended the family during the 
years of colonization deserted it in the early part of the nine- 
teenth century, and it was deemed advisable to seek the larger 
opportunities presented in the fair fields of the Northwest. 
Moral and political conviction may have had something to do 
with the move, for it is narrated that Mr. Thurman's father 
had lost considerable caste in his community by reason of his 
hostility to the institution of .slavery, and by the fact that the 
family had dispossessed itself of all its slave property by volun- 
tary deeds of manumission. However this may be, it was de- 
cided to make a change of residence. The family estates were 
disposed of at somewhat of a sacrifice, and in the year 18 18 the 



2 ALLEN G. THURMAN. 

western journey was begun, the boy, Allen, being then in his 
sixth year. 

A huge six-horse wagon bore the family and their effects over 
the Virginia Mountains, through the picturesque valleys, and 
out on to the western prairies, to a destined home at, or near, 
Chillicothe. The son, Allen G., was six years old when this 
iHigration took place. The new homestead embraced a farm 
on which the boy grew up amid industrious and frugal surround- 
ings. A good deal of hard work fell to his lot, and the habits 
of industry then laid did not desert our subject throughout his 
lonpf, useful, and higrhlv honored career. 

His early education was that of the common schools, rounded 
out, as he grew older, by a course at the Chillicothe Academy, 
where he excelled in mathematics, a love for which pervaded 
his entire life, and no doubt contributed largely to that compact 
and vigorous logic which characterized his mature speeches. 
But the real education which shaped him for a masterly career 
was that which he acquired by intense devotion to books during 
intervals of leisure. This was the kind of education which 
made so many of our Western men free and bold thinkers, 
plain, rugged spokesmen, and safe, practical statesmen. It gave 
to their lives a pluck and candor which was without garnish- 
ment, and to their convictions a sincerity and honest}' which 
were unmistakable. 

The drift of his early ambition was toward the law, and we 
accordingly find him, at the age of eighteen, a matriculant in 
the law office of his uncle, William Allen, afterwards Goxcrnor 
of Ohio. After two years of study there, he became the private 
secretary of Governor Lucas, and at the same time changed his 
.studies to the law office of Judge Swayne. In 1835 he was 
admitted to the bar, fully equipped for his profession, on which 
he embarked as a partner in connection with his uncle, I\Tr. 
Allen. He was now twenty-two years old, and this advan- 
tageous partnership, united with native zeal and ability in his 
profession, soon brought him into an extensive and lucrative 
practice. He was recognized as one who possessed rare legal 
acumen, clear and powerful methods of statement, and intense 



ALLEN G, THURMAN. 5 

faithfulness to his cause. Amid prospects which were bright 
for wealth and fame we are not surprised to find that he evinced 
a distaste for public life, which was not easily overcome, and this 
e\en though he entertained pronounced Democratic views on 
most of the questions of the day. He was not one of those 
professional youngsters who cease to study as soon as thej' are 
admitted to the bar, but he was, if an)-thing, more of a student 
than ever, adding a wide range o{ bcllcs-lcttrcs to his attainments, 
and making himself proficient in French. 

His preceptor and partner had so fully drifted into politics as 
to leave the management of the large legal business almost ex- 
clusively in the hands of the junior member of the firm. Hard 
work and close confinement began to tell on his health, and in 
1839 he took a recreative trip to Washington, where he became 
acquainted with many leading statesmen and politicians, through 
the courtesy of his uncle, then a Senator in Congress. Among 
those who most impressed him with their dignity of demeanor 
and earnestness of conviction was Senator John C. Calhoun, 
who stood at the head of Southern statesmen. He took a sim 
ilar trip in 1842, and still further enlarged his acquaintance with 
public men and the methods of running the Government. 

While these visits afforded an excellent schooling for a young 
and ambitious practitioner they did not fill him with such de- 
sire for public life as to subordinate his profession to it. In 
1844 he was urged to accept the nomination, on the Democratic 
ticket, for Congress, in the Chillicothe District. He opposed 
the use of his name for a considerable time, feeling that he could 
not afford to sacrifice his legal business, which was by this time 
bringing large pecuniary returns, and fast giving him a reputa- 
tion beyond his own State. But there seemed to be an over- 
whelming demand for such a condidacy as his name would 
present, and he finally yielded to the wishes of his party. Suc- 
cess seemed very remote in a District that was almost sure to 
gi\-e from 500 to 600 Whig majorit}', but such was his popu- 
larity that he easily overcame this, and had a handsome margin 
to spare. 

His reputation as a lawyer and debater iiad preceded him to 



4 ALLEN G. THURMAN. 

Wasliington, and he took his scat as a member of the Thirty- 
ninth Congress, fully alive to the fact that he was a centre of 
observation. He was assigned a place on several important 
committees, the most important being the Judiciary Committee, 
where his legal ability came into special requisition. He did 
not take a conspicuous place in the debates of this Congress, 
but proved to be an industrious worker in committees, and a 
wise shaper of measures. He adhered closely to the Demo- 
cratic party where political lines were drawn tightly, and re- 
tired from the Congress with the reputation of a staunch de- 
fender of the pro-slavery policy of the day. 

It seemed as if this taste of public life and political honor had 
only confirmed him in his previous resolution to make the law 
the business of his life, for we find him declining to run for a 
second term in Congress, and busily devoting himself again to 
his profession, in which he speedily rose to the first rank, and 
gained a reputation which was national. His acquirements and 
distinction made him an available candidate for a Justice of the 
Supreme Court of Ohio in 1851. He was accordingly nomi- 
nated for the place by his party, and duly elected for a term of 
four years, 1852-56. Two of these he spent on the bench as 
Justice, and two as Chief-Justice. This judicial life pro\-ed more 
alluring to him than that of a Representative at the National 
Capital. He was a hard-working, lucid, impartial judge, and 
his career on the bench fully justified the estimate put on his 
ability by his friends, without regard to politics. He had a 
masterly grasp of legal problems, clear insight into motives, 
hatred of all gloss and subterfuge in argument, and a deliberate, 
perspicuous method of decision which carried great weight. 

After serving a term as Judge, he retired with honors to pri- 
vate life and the pursuit of his profession. There was now 
eleven years of comparatively undisturbed work before him, dur- 
ing which he added to his fame in the forum. He also took a 
high place in the councils of his party, and appeared in several 
campaigns as a public speaker. He was a vigorous and elo- 
quent campaigner when he could be induced to take the stump. 
This was the formative period of the Republican party, and its 



ALLEN G. TIIURMAX. 5 

leaders were bold and agf^rcssiv^c. The}- always found in ?^Ir. 
Thurman a focnian worthy of their steel. In the political 
sweep which brouc^ht the Republicans into power in i860, and 
precipitated the secession movement and civil war, the voice of 
Democracy was well nigh hushed in the North, but this did not 
deter Mr. Thurman from giving, when occasion required, full 
and forcible expression to his political views, which were, in 
general, those based on the opinion of Attorney-General Jere- 
miah S. Black, to the effect that " the Union must totally perish 
at the moment when Congress shall arm one part of the people 
against another for any purpose beyond that of merely protect- 
ing the general government in the exercise of its original 
functions." 

This eleven years of retiracy from public life and entire de- 
votion to his profession extended over the period of the civil 
war and ended with his reappearance as candidate for the Gov- 
ernorship of Ohio on the Democratic ticket in 1867. This can- 
didacy was felt from the start to be in the nature of a personal 
sacrifice for his party. Though the Republican nominee, Ruther- 
ford B. Hayes, was not essentially a strong opponent, the Republi- 
can successes in the State had been signalized by majorities which 
it seemed impossible to overcome. He was, therefore, very much 
in the position of one who was leading a forlorn hope. Not- 
withstanding the odds he plunged into the campaign like a true 
Roman, organized his party in the State on a winning basis, 
and so inspired it with his courage and persistency that it has 
ever since felt the effect of his enthusiasm and transforming 
power. Though defeated for Governor, he reduced the Republi- 
can majority to a minimum and virtually gained a victory for 
his party b\- the election of a Democratic Legislature, which 
had in its hands the making of a United States Senator. 

It was quite natural that the political revolution in the State, 
to which he had in the main contributed, not only by the prestige 
of a great name, but by heroic effort in council and on the 
stump, should in the end redound to his advancement. Ac- 
cordingly, the newly-elected Democratic Legislature, in a spirit 
of gratitude for his herculean endeavor and ^^•ith a unanimity 



Q ALLEN G. TliURMAN. 

which showed the strong hold he had on their confidence, selected 
him as a United States Senator to take the place of Senator 
Benjamin F. Wade. This promotion — Senator fitted his notions 
of dignity better than Governor and at the same time gave him 
a wider range of usefulness — placed him in a sphere which was 
well calculated to bring into play the faculties which had been 
fully ripened by rich experience, tie succeeded a man who 
stood high at home and in the national councils, and would, there- 
fore, be compelled to rank well in that great deliberative body or 
else suffer by contrast. But there was no need to fear for one so 
well equipped as he. He brought a ripeness of learning, and es- 
pecially in constitutional law, which made him the peer of those 
older in Senatorial deliberations. He had ever been pronounced 
in his views on public questions, so that it was known exactly 
where he would be found when pivotal questions were under 
discussion. In all the councils of his party he had been a prime 
mover and originator of important measures, a hater of all 
shams and subterfuges and a self-reliant, consistent and able ad- 
vocate of Democratic tenets, as well as a masterly opponent of 
those of the enemy. It is doubtful if ever a man reached the 
high office of Senator who was better qualified by education and 
taste for the place, or whose abilities found more speedy recogni- 
tion. If the expression may be pardoned, he was a National 
Senator, not only by demeanor, but in his order of mind, mental 
endowment and forensic powers. To ability he united fairness 
and frankness, and in his exhibitions of clearest grit he was con- 
siderate of his surroundings. 

He took his seat in the United States Senate March 4, 1869, 
and participated in the earnest debates of the extra session, then 
called for the purpose of passing on the admission of Texas, 
Virginia and Mississippi before they had submitted their State 
Constitutions to the people and ratified the Fourteenth and Fif- 
teenth Amendments to the National Constitution. Though the 
Democrats were in a hopeless minority, and the legislation 
which followed was of a strong Republican type, the situation 
was such as to command just the power of analysis and lucidity 
of statement which Mr. Thurman possessed, He proved hirti^ 



ALLEN G. THURMAN. 7 

self a strong lawyer and debater, and his party felt that it had 
in him one of its brightest and bravest champions. 

At the regular session of the Congress, in December, 1869, 
the " Enforcement Bill," designed to give the government larger 
police powers in the Southern States, was the chief bone of con- 
tention. Mr. Thurman's opposition to this kind of legislation 
was very able, and in his debates with the opposition he showed 
powers which established him in the first rank of Senator. And 
this position was not only conceded by his part}' friends, but by 
the Republicans, the latter of whom, to a man, greatly esteemed 
him for his amiable personality, high character and undoubted 
ability. 

Ben: Perley Poore, in his " Reminiscences of Sixty Years in 
the National Metropolis," thus speaks of him : " Allen G. Thur- 
man, of Ohio, was recognized by the Democrats in the Senate 
as their leader. He was a broad-shouldered, sturdily-built man, 
with a large, square head and ruddy complexion, gray hair and 
beard and a positive manner that conimanded respect. Earnest, 
outspoken and free in his criticism of men and manners, he 
would wave his red bandanna pocket handkerchief like a guidon, 
give his nose a trumpet blast, take a fresh pinch of snuff and 
dash into a debate, dealing rough blows and scattering the care- 
fully-prepared arguments of his adversaries like chaff." 

Though vigorous in his logic and dreadfully direct and earnest 
in his opposition, he made no enemies, and very frequently, after 
the fiercest encounters with certain members of the opposition, he 
would seek their companionship in the committee rooms and 
talk over the blows given and taken with the zest of a youth who 
had indulged in a free fight without hard thoughts. 

Senator Thurman was elected to a second term in the Senate 
in 1874, so that his whole Senatorial career extended from 1869 
to 1 88 1. For ten of these years his party was in the minority, 
and he was its recognized leader. But it must not be supposed 
that he was a leader in that strictly partisan sense which shaped 
the policy of parties during the war. While the gravest issues 
ever presented to the country were unsettled, he was a Demo- 
crat of the " straightest sect " and a stern advocate of results 



g ALLEN G. THURMAN. 

such as were deemed desirable pending a decision by arms. But 
as United States Senator, confronting a situation which was be- 
yond party or poHtical recall, and legal facts like the decision of 
the Supreme Court in 1869, giving Congress the right to estab- 
lish the relation of rebellious States to the Union, which could 
not be ignored, he was a Democrat of graver mould, a far more 
thoughtful and unimpassioned man and official. 

Much of the above period was that of Reconstruction and of 
adjusting the mushroom finances of the country to the needs of 
peaceful industry. His party was confronted with a majority 
which had certain ends in view. These ends it could only reach 
by certain means. Some were desirable, some not. Mr, Thur- 
man did not appear on the scene as one wishing to reverse the 
verdict obtained by war, nor as one seeking to turn aside any 
legitimate and permanent consequence of armed arbitrament. 
This would only have been fatuous politics and puerile states- 
manship. As opponent of the Republican measures of Recon- 
struction, he more than once explained himself as not wishing to 
defeat what he considered proper and necessary, but as anxious 
to use the privilege of a minority representative to expunge from 
them what was bad and place the whole on constitutional founda- 
tions. He was a loyalist w^ho had passed beyond the acerbities 
of an ante-bellum period and who would prudentially use the 
powers and possibilities of a post-bellum period so as to assure 
the people of all sections that Union was desirable and law not 
^ threat. 

Throughout all the post-bellum period, up to the advent of 
Mr. Thurman to the Senate, the Democratic party had been in a 
dazed condition. It was feeble and wavering in the face of odds 
and of the new situation it was called upon to confront. But 
this was changed when Mr. Thurman appeared. The mission 
of sheer obstructionist ended with his entry into the Senate. He 
showed it the broad way to a career which placed it abreast of 
the new political era which had dawned and gave to it uses as 
beneficial as if it had had the power as a majority to originate 
legislation. He made it the great cross-questioner of motives 
and deeds, held up the plumb-line of the Constitution to every 



ALLEN V,. 1 IILRMAN. 9 

measure, and, by always keeping the majority under rigid scru- 
tiny, compelled it to a course which, if not exactly Democratic, 
was as near it as a minority could reasonably expect. This re- 
quired brains, pluck and a talent for parliamentary leadership 
which none in his party possessed to the extent of Mr. Thur- 
man. Some of his speeches were models of oratoiy, analysis 
and logic, as keen, powerful and impressive as those of his an- 
tagonists, measuring up in every essential with the magnificent 
outbursts of Conkling, the studied strains of Edmunds and the 
forceful sentences of Siierman. Whether it was the constitu- 
tional amendments, general suffrage, soft as against hard mcMicy, 
or wliat not, he was ever ready, not with a factious opposition, 
but with the legal and constitutional inquiries which pricked 
nian\' a legislative bubble, purged the dross from many a crude 
measure and robbed enactments of much that was offensive. 

Mr. Thurman was very decided in his hard-money views dur- 
ing the early debates upon finance, and opposed with vigor the 
various Republican measures which looked to a superabundance 
of paper currency. But after the opinion of the Supreme 
Court, in 1870, establishing the constitutionality of the Legal 
Tender Act, his views underwent modification. By 1874 he had 
drifted very far toward the doctrine advocated by the " Green- 
back Part}-," which had swept the State of Ohio for Governor 
under the lead of his old preceptor, Hon. Wm. Allen, and, like 
many others, believed that a new influence had entered pcrma- 
mently into American politics. In more than one really able 
speech he held that tlic use of Treasury notes as a circulating 
medium did not necessarily mean inflation, and that their sub- 
stitution for coin was legitimate. It is to be supposed that these 
convictions, honestly entertained at the time, for Mr. Thurman 
could not entertain a dishonest con\'iction, were transient and 
that profounder study of an intricate situation led him back to 
the old Jacksonian doctrine which he had formerly espoused. 
Of course the Republicans looked upon this partial surrender of 
the " Old Roman's " views as somewhat of a concession to their 
theories of a national currency, but the sentiment he propitiated 
in this direction was more than discounted by \vhat he lost in 



10 ALLEN G. THURMaN. 

his own party, which was very nearly divided over the same 
question. The ruHng faction of the party was for hard money, 
and this faction was what became known as the " Tilden faction." 
It was somewhat imperious and did not hesitate to drive home 
upon the opposing faction a full measure of resentment, directed 
especially at the heads of all those who might by any possibility 
become available' Presidential timber. 

Therefore what otherwise would have passed away as a mere 
freak of the moment or as a misjudgment which time would 
speedily correct was, in Mr. Thurman's case, unjustly magnified 
and greatly turned against him, in order that it might serve the 
purpose above indicated. He had received favorable considera- 
tion in the National Convention of 1872, as a candidate for the 
Presidency, and quite a number of votes. In 1876 his name 
was again favorably before the party as an aspirant, but the Til- 
den wave, manipulated by those who were in a position to take 
advantage of the recent soft-money utterances of Mr. Thurman, 
swept over Ohio so completely as to engulf all his chances for 
success. 

He, however, did not allow this to worry or disappoint him. 
When Mr. Tilden was nominated he cheerfully turned in as a 
champion of his cause on an old-fashioned hard-money basis 
and made some of the/ most effective speeches of the campaign. 
Nor was he less active in the Senate, where his leadership of the 
party was as much recognized as ever and where his mental and 
physical activity, his excellence as a lawyer and his vast range 
of knowledge came into requisition as often as before. 

As is well known, the election of 1876 led to a disputed re- 
sult, which had an ominous look for a time. Danger was 
avoided by an agreement to report the Electoral Commission 
Act, which established a Commission to decide upon the merits 
of the case. Mr. Thurman was a strong advocate of the act, 
and he held his party so firmly in the Senate that only one 
Democrat voted against it, while it passed the Democratic House 
by a majority of 191 to 86. He was afterwards honored with 
the position of Senate member of the Commission and voted 
throughout to sustain the returns which favored the election of 
Mr. Tilden, 



ALLEN G. THLRMAN. ] \ 

After the great Democratic sweep of 1878, which gave both 
branches of Congress to the Democrats by decided majorities, 
Mr. Thurman was honored in the Senate by being elected Presi- 
dent //v /tv//. of that body, and in this capacity he presided with 
dignity and impartiahty, greatly endearing himself to the prom- 
inent men of both parties. 

In iSSohewasagain an aspirant for Presidentialiionors, and with 
a more decided following in the National Convention than ever 
before. His strength rose to over sixty votes, with a fair chance 
of substantial increase, when the Convention was stampeded for 
General Hancock. Amid the furore which succeeded no leader 
could hold his forces in line, and Mr. Thurman, like the rest of 
the prominent aspirants, was forced to bow to the inevitable. 

The fall elections of 1880 were disastrous to the Democrats, 
and the Legislature of Ohio became Republican. Mr. Thur- 
man's second term in the Senate expired with March 4, 1881, 
and Mr. Sherman, who had been Secretary of the Treasury, was 
elected to succeed him in that honorable office he had filled 
with such signal ability. The very last legislation on which he 
left his impress was what became known as the " Thurman 
Bill," compelling the Pacific Railroads to fund their debt and pay 
their obligations to the Government. It was a measure of 
mighty importance, and its passage required great persistency 
and boldness. 

On leaving the Senate at the age of 68 years, Mr. Thurman 
retired to private life, full of honors, with a modest competency, 
and in the possession of a robust mind and physique. His 
home was such as the distinguished gentleman and finely read 
scholar craves. Every surrounding spoke of comfort. Ample 
book-shelves were filled with ancient and modern authors of 
renown, and he loved to pass his leisure in perusing liis favorite 
volumes. He still retained an important law practice, Avhich he 
pursued chiefly in the capacity of councellor, though in several 
instances he appeared as active attorney, as in the celebrated 
" Bell Telephone " suits, and the " Tally-sheet Forgery " cases in 
his own State. President Arthur appointed him a member of 
the International [Metallic Conference in 1S81, a difficult and 
responsible position, which he filled with great credit. 



12 ALLEN G. TIIURMAN. 

When the Democrats gained control of the Ohio Legislature, 
in 1884, Mr. Thurman was again spoken of in connection with 
the United States Senate, but a j'ounger generation was, by this 
time, in control of his party, and the " Old Liners " were com- 
pelled, after a brief struggle, to recognize the power of new 
blood, and the potentiality of new political methods. But noth- 
ing could crush the respect in which Mr. Thurman was held by 
his party. Though beaten for the Senate by his competitor, 
Hon. Henry B. Payne, his mission was still to maintain the 
honor and strength of the substantial old Democracy of his 
State, without which the younger and less discreet element 
would lack a timely balance wheel. 

Mr. Thurman's intimate party friends hoped to see him called 
into President Cleveland's Cabinet in 1885, but other counsels 
prevailed at the time. The honor which was then withheld caiue, 
however, in 1888, when the President made known his prefer- 
ences for Mr. Thurman as a candidate for Vice-President, in 
case he himself were placed at the head of the ticket. As soon 
as Mr. Thurman's name was mentioned in this connection, the 
propriety of his nomination became apparent, and when the 
National Convention of 1888 assembled at St. Louis, he easily 
led the field as a Vice-Presidential candidate. Indeed, it only 
required the mention of his name in Convention to excite the 
wildest enthusiasm, and in all his long, varied, and highly 
honored career, Mr. Thurman never received a more spontaneous 
or hearty endorsement from his party. It required only a single 
ballot to express the overwhelming sentiment of the Convention 
in his fa\'or, and place him on the ticket with President Cleve- 
land. Though seventy-five years old when thus signally hon- 
ored, he accepted with the alacrity of youth the responsibilities 
of candidature, and expressed his readiness to enter the cam- 
paign and help his party and cause on to victory. 

There can be no more fitting conclusion to INTr. Thurman's 
biography than the tribute paid to him at the time of his nomi- 
nation at St. 'Louis. Said the N't'iv York Herald, editorially: 

" We are for Thurman — not to-day, because he will be nomi- 
nated, but always for Thurman — for Thurman, because \ve 



AI.l.KX c;. TIIL'RMAN. ]3 

cherish the piivile;^e of athnirinc; such a man ; because we are 
proud of the country capable of producing such a man; because 
we hold the faith of Democracy, which, strengthening the fibre 
of his pure purpose, has made him greater and stronger with 
every year of his useful and honored hfe. 

"What a fighter he has been ! He is scarred all over with his 
hundred battles, and every blow he has taken or given has been 
in front. He has fought in the majorit}' and he has fought in 
the minority, when he was one of ten thousand and when he 
vv::s alone ; but there lives not his own or Democracy's foe that 
has ever seen his back. He has gone down more than once, 
but always face upwards, fighting still ; and he has never stayed 
down. He has had within him the force of living principle that 
never permitted him to surrender or to falter, and no matter 
what the odds against him, he has never surrendered anything 
in the long fight he has made for the people. Whenever and 
wherever classes have separated themselves from the people, 
arrogating to themselves distinctions, privileges and benefits 
above the people, at the expense of the people, they have found 
in Thurman an uncompromising antagonist, asking no quarter, 
giving none, accepting none. If it is the highest qualit)' of 
heroism to face mart)-rdom unflinchingly, he is heroic. But 
every martyrdom has made him stronger. He has been thrown 
to the lions, time and again, only to come out unscathed, with 
new skill at his weapons, new force in his blow. He has grown 
greater with age as Gladstone grew — as all great men strengthen 
as wisdom develops their powers and teaches them how to use 
them rightly. We all know him — from Maine to Oregon, from 
California to Florida, and we all love him. We want the Old 
Roman and we will take no denial." 

The remarks of Mr. Tarpej', of California, who placed his 
name in nomination, are both historic and eulogistic. He said : 

" That I am proud of the privilege of addressing you I acknowl- 
edge, but that I am [)rouder still of the man whom I shall name 
I will not deny, for I feel, sirs, that this Republic holds no su- 
perior to the Hon. Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio. The greeting ac- 
corded his name is a well-deserved tribute. Its .spontaneity has 



14 ALLEN G. TIIUR^L■\X. 

been nobly earned. Be assured, sirs, a greeting will be accorded 
his name at its every mention throughout this Republic from sea 
to sea and from the British line to the gulf 

"Allen G. Thurman ! What an epitome of American civil his- 
tory is embodied in that name; his character and ability are 
known to every man, woman and child in the land. His public 
services will be a more enduring monument than temples of 
stone or brass, for history will inscribe his name among the list 
of America's illustrious sons. Taking his seat in the United 
States Senate in 1869, the imprint of his genius is found deeply 
imbedded in tlie legislation of the country. From his first ap- 
pearance in the Senate until his retirement from that bod\' his 
voice was always raised in behalf of the people and in defense 
of their rights. For forty years he has been a prominent figure 
in public life, and yet to-da\' no man can point to a single act or 
expression of his which does not do him credit. Large at heart, 
large of brain, and larger still in experience, he is the man of 
all men whose record justifies his nomination at your hands in 
the sense that he cannot be defeated before the people — a man 
of benevolent heart, manifesting itself not only in private life, 
but as the leading feature of his official career. 

"When the Pacific coast was endeavoring to retard Chinese 
immigration, when it had decided that national legislation was 
necessary to accomplish the desired result, when the merits of 
the subject were not understood east of the Rocky Mountains, 
Allen G. Thurman, then a Senator of the United States, was the 
first to raise his voice in defence of those whose means of living 
were in danger, and whose homes were threatened with destruc- 
tion. When the great railroad corporations evidenced an intention 
to evade payment of their obligations to the Government this 
great man prepared that remarkable enactment known as the 
Thurman bill, by which the offending corporations were obliged 
to provide a sinking fund for the redemption of their promises. 
During the tr}'ing times of reconstruction Mr. Thurman was the 
central figure in the United States Senate in upholding the 
dignity and integrity of the Constitution. The waves of party 
passion, lashed. into fury by ill-advised, jealous partisans, broke 



AT.LEN G. THURMAN. 15 

harmless upon his leonino front and settled back into calmness 
by the force of his logic and the power of his oratory. A ripe 
scholar, his disquisitions upon constitutional law are master- 
pieces of reasoning and eloquence, challenging the admiration 
of even his political opponents. His fame is not his alone, it is 
the proud heritage of the American people. His name may be 
most fittingly coupled with that of our honored President, Gro- 
vcr Cleveland. Cleveland and Thurman will be a ticket abso- 
lutely invincible. It will sweep the country with a mighty rush, 
a tidal wave of approval. 

"Let no mistakes be made at this time. Mistakes are crimes. 
If you but do your duty, if you but give the people what they 
expect, what they demand, the contest of parties instead of just 
commencing will be practically ended, for the great electoral and 
popular majorities which Cleveland and Thurman will surely re- 
ceive at the poles will be a revelation even to ourselves. As 
representatives of the Democracy of the nation we have a duty 
to perform. We must nominate the man the people have already 
nominated. We have but to endorse the popular verdict; no 
less will be accepted at your hands. Let no consideration of 
personal friendship or glamor of locality influence your action. 
Personal friendship cannot be repaid by nomination where a 
great part)''s interest and future are at stake. No trifling with 
great concerns of state should be tolerated; no expression of 
local pride can be admitted to influence action. When the 
sovereign people speak they must be obeyed. Broad ground 
must be taken. The man of the nation, not the man of the 
.state, must be nominated. Let it not be said that one single 
Democrat in all this great Union failed in this testimonial to the 
greatest American of his day; the noblest breathing man upon 
American soil ; fit consort in the temple of fame of those patriots 
of the past, the founders of our institutions whose sacred dust 
lies calmly sleeping beneath the sod of Mount Vernon, Monti- 
cello and the Hermitage, awaiting the dedication of our national 
pantheon." 

The speech of Senator John W. Daniel, of Virginia, second- 
ing the nomination, ran as follows: 



16 ALLEN G. THURMAN. 

"Fifty years ago and more there went beyond the Alleghenies 
from the good old town of Lynchburg, a preacher of the Gospel, 
who carried with him his wife, his boy, his Bible and his house- 
hold goods. He settled in the splendid young Conmionwealth 
of Ohio. The boy became the father of the man. The man, 
by his force of character, rose to the high places of his people's 
confidence and love. They made him their representative in 
Congress. They clothed him with the ermine of the Chief- 
Justiceship of their court. They sent him as a Senator of the 
United States. 

" He was a statesman of country-wide and world-wide renown ; 
in the Church of Israel a teacher and a leader of men. And 
further, there were difficult conditions to be confronted and 
difficult theories to be expounded. He measured to the depth 
of every exigency and rose to the height of ev^ery occasion until 
he became the beacon of the people's hope and the centre of the 
state's desire. 

" In an age of corruption he was an exemplification of purity. In 
an age of extravagance he was the sentinel of economy ; in an 
age of sectionalism he knew only his country; in an age of hate 
he was the incarnation of fraternity ; in an age of scandal the 
salt of his good name never lost its savor. The revolving years 
that have circled around his head have each of them left in its 
track a new ring of glory. Can I not say of him in the lan- 
guage of the poet, 'Age may o'er his brow be flurg; but his 
heart, his heart, is ever young.' Old indeed, but not too old to 
receive the tardy honor of a people to whom he has been faith- 
ful, or to requite them with renewed and faithful service. Why 
not nominate him now, my countrymen, and by acclamation ? 
In the name of the people of Virginia, on whose soil Thur- 
nian was born ; in the name of Ohio, his adopted home; in the 
name of the Democracy of the great nation, incorruptible, un- 
terrified and unconquerable, I fling this banner to the breeze the 
symbol of his name." 

As Mr. Daniels concluded he waved a large bandanna, thus 
giving to the party a campaign guidon. 




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f SECTION*. 

' 68. Pooin! An Atlantic EpJaodo. Py Jnntln H. 
McCarthy. A iiowerful and thrilliiiK story of life 00 
au American liner. The I'lot is LUten?«. 

67. U llllani Shokspcurc ; How, When. Wbj 
and What ho \\Tote. By U. A. Taiiie. A brilllaiil 
work that will open the eyes of readers. 

5G. Uaoseloa. Princo of Abvssinla. By Dr. 
Baniuel Johnson. One of those writinus by a mastta 
mind which no one can aSord not to read. Part II. 

55. Part 1. do. 

51. Money. By Sir E. Bulwer I ytton. Whoevei 
bas read Shaknpeare'8 " Herchantol Venice" should 
read linlwer's" Money." 

63. I'PR WofHiigton. By Charlee BeAde. This 
BiastcriiiL'ce is ono of those exquisite niosalca with 
which great minds omaiuout their work. Pai't II. 

62. Part I. do. 

6 1 . Mios Toosey's IVrission, and Laddia Tw* 
of those rarely amoelvod and chamiinifly told 
Btorles of home and duty which refresh and inspire. 

60. I'nul and Vlrelnia. By licmadlu de St 
Pierre. It is the "story that never dice." Part II. 

49. Part I, do. 

48. Cardinal nichellea. By Sir K Bulwet 
Lytton. One of Pulwer's iiissterpiecce. 

47. Kuoch Arden, and other itims. By Alfred 
Tennyson. In this i>oem the pott is ct lils best. 

4ti. Ilunico and Juliet. By William BlaclC. 
An oxuuiiutu ekstch of tvo fuoUfih lovef a. 



FECnON 8 

7 1 . Tlie Comins Rare, or Kcw Utrrla. By Sff 
E. Bulwer Lytton. A thrllllntr history of life among 
an ideal i>cotile in the centre of the earth. Part II. 

•JO. Part 1, do. 

Gil. Uulldosnnd Butterfly. Ty David Christie 
Murray. A spicy stoi-y of human character, not a 
tit overdrawn. BtilldoKS and butterflies are all 
around us. 

t>S. JShe; or .^dventurea In thoCavpg of Kor. Br 
n.Hid^r Hat'ijnrd. The vigor and variety of tlie book 
ri^xku it especially chRnuiiiK: Its narrative Impart* a 
tbnil as It Klidea throu{;a wonderful aceues and 
events. Part IV. 

G7. Part III., do. GG. Part II. do. 63. Part I, do. 

Ct. Cnlderon the Courtier. By K. Wulwer 
I.ytton. Due of the beet of the threat author's his- 
toric stories. 

C3. Wtnblied In the Dark. By E. Lynn Lin. 
ton. A Rtirrinx- story of the old Neapolitan days, by 
an author who Inventa ingenloua plots. Part iL 

62. Part I. do. 

61. Tlie Crirkct on the Uearth. By Charles 
Dickena Ono of the aweeteet things ever ■nrittcn by 
I>ickenR, All love it for its beauty and pi.thos. 

60. The I,ady of Lyona. By f^lr K. Bulwer 
Lytton. This is the lady as seen in the celebrated 
play of the same name. It ranks as tho prettiest 
picture of ricvotion ever placed on the staKO. 

59. Jullu and her Uoineo. By David Chriatlo 
Umray. TUiii author la always iD^eoious and racy. 



I SECTION 6. beatonlnif MAT Bth. 1888. 

84. I..oy«, Lord KerrcMford. By the Durhegs " 
A chaniiiiiK Hocietv htoiy. Ono of tho author'H best 

83. Cloudd mid SuiiHliiiio. By Charles lleada. 
A hapi>lly t»i!d story of farm life. 

82. The Haunted Houhc. By Sir E. BuIwm 
Lytton. One ol tlie Ki'eut author's quaintest conctlt* 
and most happily told storios. 

81. John illlllon; When whv, and what ha 
wrnto. liy II. A. Taiue. .\ workfullor (freatsuri'riB<'a 

80. Dr. I>Iarlaold. I5y Charl.-a Wckeiis. One ol 
Dicken'B crinpest and niont anniHiuK sketches. 

79. TheKniijhtHbrldxoHIyhtery. »v(h.irle» 
Iteade. Concealment is the ai list's Kanie till the fear- 
ful close bursts like au .Mpiiie avalnncho. 

78. Allen Quatermain : the latest and b.st 
novel from thei>enof the popular 11. Itiilcr HaKKard 
In this Ktory of African adveuture, tlio author sur- 
pas.ses the (flowing deiicriiitivo \iKor of She. Part IV. 

77. Part HI. do. 70. Vartll.do. 7. T.I 'art I. do. 

I 74. The Trial of I'lok w Ick. By Charles Dick- 

■ ens. This is the first time tho entire story ot thecal. 

laut Pickwick's adventures with the imiircssiouabl* 

Mrs. Bardell haw appeared in cf>nnect< d form. 

73. Uutv I'lito Ucatli. orUleand Wdrkof Ilcv. 
GtMirifo C. Iluddnek, Apostle of Prohibition In th« 
KorthweKt By his brother. John A. Huddock. The 
Work is au ably written review of the hero, and cou. 
Uins a KTi^iihic account of Uiii acitatisluutior Part IL 

72>PartL do. 

Section 7« ■• '— • 

97 Oiilyby Sifflit and Miss Browii. 

Two spriifhtly, whjlesouio 8t<iriea that leave cvfry. 
body britrnter aud bettti- for tlie reading- 

96 Redeeming a Birtliriglit. A 

model story in which a true heart proves the beat 
Juilwe, and the atTectious render tho most satiKt uctory 

verdict. 

05 My Ward's Peril, a story wiioso 

mystery and thrill are ini^eniously niaintaiued till 
thiiplotis unveiled by tho exposure of f«>ct;itanil 
triumph of Justice. 

94 Sandra's Oath. A spirited story 
showing: the devotion of worn an under tho lian of 'a 
heavy oath, and amid trying home snrroundinifB. 

93 She Fell in Love wi< h her Hns- 

lt.\Ni>. Fullofpa-sslon and plot. I'.eplete with hero, 
ism, tenderness, temptations and triumphs uf ri(;ht. 

92 The Price of a Life. The hero is 
a Nihllst, the heroine an unsuspectlntr lady who 
Ciicaiies with her life in a marvelous way, A Uilo of 
mysteries. 

91 Worth or Wealth. An exquisito 
Btory of human character which holds the reader to 
tho end Thoroughly enjoyable. 

90 Eric Bering and Other Stories. 

by the "DUCHES 
Bprig'htly and ke< 
aud description. 



This iioinih'.r writer is always 
Bprig'htly and ke<'U, and makes the most o< 'ucideut 



89 That Last Rehearsal. By the 

"DtJCHESS." A racy and catchinjr story, full of osqni- 
site surprises and hnely turned innnts. Otherstones. 

S3 On Her Wedding Morn. By 

nEUTHA M. ClAY. A very stronfr and chaniiinK 
character-story, abounding in strikiut; situations 
aud stirring' narrative. 

87 The Hannted Man. Bv Cliarles 

DICKKNS. The action is rapid, i uthos touchlnir. 
and one reads with lauKhter, Joy aud tears. The 
moral is sublime. 

86 Sweet is True Lovo. By the 

"Duchess." A touohinvr story of disapnolntment, 
estrangement aud recoucilUUou. Oueof thcaulhor's 
bt«t. 

85 Jack of all Trades. By Cliarles 

KE.VUK. Fvill of comical Pitiiatious, fimuy iiicl. 
dents of travel, aiulthrUliutf odveutured Vof 

a colossal elephant. 



WONDERS or the:. 

Heavens, Earth and Ocean! 

By JAMES P. BOYD, A. M. 

In which The Starry Sky reveals its splendor of Orbs, distances and niotio»s. 
the "Vasty Deep" diseovers its surprising miracles of vegetable, fish ana 
terrible monster life; and all the Continents of our Globe unfold their secret 
rolls of curious, startling and awe-inspiring things and events. 

832 Brilliant Fagds. 400 Fine Zngravings. 

A BOOK OF TRUE WONDERS 1 

TRULY A WONDERFUL BOOKl 

Not a line of fiction, yet no glowing outburst c human imagination ever 
equalled the hand-writing of Nature on the scroll /f the Sky, the parchment 
of v-iie Waters or the solid surface of the Earth. 

Really a series of 

EIGHTEEN BOOKS IN ONE, 

and each aglow with rare and wonderful sights, surprising revelations, fasci- 
nating narratives, heroic deed* and thrilling episodes of travel and adventure. 



1. STARRY HEAVENS, 
mecoocs, cooiets, suas aod 
buruiaif worlds. 

2. THE VASTY DEEP. c.w- 
aU, »u>iio-llowef:i, pearts, 

3. ISLES OK THE SEA, 
fruits, l>ea3U, peuptet, ciu- 
lomj, iiMauecs. 

4. EGYPT fit THE NILE, 
pyramids, tcfupld, tombs. 
woaJrouii ruiivs. 

5. SOURCES of Ui« NILE, 
tlie thrilliuK story of Col. 
aad L.ady Baker. 

6. ZAMBESI, Mv^a^e rtuxt, 
lions, elevltants, rhinoceri 
and wonderful cataracts. 



f. THE CONCX3, Journeys of 
LivinevCoQe aud Stanley, 
pen U of lood, climat« and 

8. CAPE OF STORMS. Zu- 
lulaud. hunter's p«EadLs«, 
diamond mines. 

9. LAND OF TEMPLES. 
paUce«, ^ardetiK. r<x:Jc te<a- 
ni^B. infinite wixule^'fi. 

10. FLOWERY KINGDOM, 
tclianulue Journey Uirout;h 
ChiAa. 

>l. JAPAN * THE JAPS, 
• trip full of beauties and 
»««rprlse«. 

la. ANDES AND PAMPAS, 
Inc« ruins, eartltqualces. 



12- OUR AMERICAN 
EGYP r. grand old palaces, 
tree-grown teiujjles. 

14. AZTECaNUZUNI. con- 
quests, legends, cities, tem- 
ples, ruius. 

15. GARDEN of the GODS, 
natural parks, statuary. 

•6. ICE-hOUND POLE, 
sladgca, frecsiagt., eacapes, 
advenlurea of all the Arc- 
tic ezplorefs. 

»}. LANDS OF THE MID 
NIGHT .SUN. peoples, au 
Kiras, Keysers. 

»8. SOUTH POLE, frightful 
bergs, daugen, all the ex- 
plorations. 



Superb in every particular. Excites curiosity. Touches every taste. A 
feast for all reader*. A marvel of cheapness. Only fa. 50 for over 800 pages of 
brilliant reading and 400 stlrrine pictures. Sells without talking, all the time, 
everywhere. Agents report V$ sold in five dayi; J70 in first month; 41 in 
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AOKNTS "WANTED in every county. Book at top wave of success. 
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credit. Address 

P.W. 2iij^cJLER & CO., Publishers, 

220 Cliettaut St., PhiUdelphia, Pa., or 113 East Adams St., Chlcngo, III 



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